Total Switch
by swirlheart
Summary: Kira and Hana aren’t happy with themselves and want to change into something more, well, manly. So when they find a way to turn their personalities upside-down, they’re all for it! But what happens when Toshiro gets caught up in the spell too? Review plz!
1. Chapter 1

**Total Switch**:

I don't own Bleach so don't ask! I'm just another crazy fan!

**Chapter 1:**

Knock. Knock.

"Come in!" Rangiku called from her spot on the couch.

The door opened and in came Kira. He slinked slowly into the room with sad eyes pointed squarely at her. "Uh… Am I intruding?"

"Not at all. Come in."

He kept his eyes on the floor and dragged his feet over to her. He lifted his head slightly to look at her, but when their eyes met, he looked away again.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Well…" He trailed off after that.

"Go on," she encouraged.

He bit his lip. He seemed to be nervous about something. After several minutes, he finally answered her. "Uh… Rangiku… I, uh… I…"

"Well, spit it out."

"I… I need some help…"

"Yes?"

"I… I'm… I…" He gulped and belted out the next words rather quickly. "I'm not happy with myself!"

She blinked. "Huh? What was that? You spoke too fast."

"I… I'm not happy with who I am…"

"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"

"It's just that… that… I… I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm a big wimp!"

"Huh?"

"Well, people look at me and say that even though I'm a lieutenant, I'm pretty weak when it comes to holding my own… B- by that I mean that I'm so shaky and nervous. I'm so indecisive and… I'm a strong fighter, but as a person, I'm not very good. I mean… I'm always so nervous. I stutter when I speak sometimes, I get scared easily, I'm cowardly… I… I just don't like it. I can't take being called a big baby anymore!"

"Who says that about you?"

"Well… you do."

Rangiku thought about it. "Oh, yeah! You're right. And you take that to heart?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well, you shouldn't. I didn't mean anything by it."

"You must have otherwise you wouldn't have said it." Kira looked at the ground. "I… I'm just so sick and tired of it. I don't want people to look at me and think of me as a big wimp. I know I'm a strong fighter, but I want the personality to back it up. I want a strong, brave mentality. I mean, look at the 11th division! They're monsters! I want to have that kind of reputation. I want to be strong in mind and body, too! I don't want to be this way anymore."

"Now, don't you think you're overreacting? I'm sure no one thinks that way about you."

"But you do!"

"I'm just teasing you!"

"Well, I know there are people out there who think that way and I want to prove them wrong. I don't want to be a big timid wimp! Or a crybaby, or whatever!"

Rangiku rolled her eyes. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit? No one thinks that way. And I never knew it bothered you so much. Look, you're not as bad as you're making yourself out to be. I don't know what has you so depressed, but it needs to stop. You're not that bad."

Kira didn't answer. She saw his hands shaking. He was really upset.

"I want to be better… I want to be a better person… A stronger person… More reliable…"

Rangiku groaned. "Jeez, Kira… Stop this. You act as if can't do anything right. You're too sensitive…"

"That's exactly what I want to change!"

They heard a small yelp and dull thud in the hall. They looked up to see Hanataro slam face first into the door frame. He sat on his ankles and rubbed his forehead. "Ow..! That hurt..!"

"Hanataro?"

He jumped at his name. "Oh! S- sorry, Lieutenant Matsumoto. I- I didn't mean to intrude! Excuse me!" He hastily bowed his head.

"That's fine. But what happened just now?"

"I- I tripped. S- sorry…"

Kira swiveled around in his seat to look at him. "Hanataro!"

He jumped and began to shake. "Y- y- yes?"

"What do you think of me?"

"Huh?"

"What do you think of me? Do you think I'm strong willed? Brave?"

Hanataro looked from side to side. "Uh… Well, I… Uh… I… I'm not sure what you mean..."

Rangiku stood up from the couch. "He thinks he's a big wimp and a coward."

Hanataro looked at the floor. "Well…"

"See?! He thinks that way, too!"

"But I haven't said anything yet!"

Kira began to sob into his arm.

Rangiku put an arm around him. "Now, now… Don't take it to heart. You are sensitive, huh? I never realized just how sensitive you were…" To change the topic, she turned around. "But the way, Hanataro, why are you all the way out here?"

He flinched. "Oh! I was, uh… Just going to check on Squad 11's captain. He was injured today fighting off Hollows. Captain Unohana wanted me to check and see if he's ok. Last time a wound went unchecked, it got infected. She wants me to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"You realize of course that he'll never let you do that, right? He'll bite your head off, or something..."

Hanataro looked down, still shaking.

Rangiku turned back to Kira who had calmed somewhat. "Come on, Kira… You're not that big a wimp. Stop this. At least you're not as bad as Hanataro. Now _he's_ bad."

He looked up.

"I mean, he's a huge wimp! He's always shaking and stuttering. He's so clumsy and gullible. You're nothing like this wuss."

"Wuss?" Hanataro repeated to himself.

Kira pushed her away. "Say what you want, but I know I'm right! I don't like myself! I want to change myself so that my brave and strong personality will back up my true strength. I want to be strong inside and out! That's why I came here asking for your help. I thought that maybe you could help me out. Maybe coach me a little. Maybe some possible therapy..? I figured that if you put the ideas into my head, perhaps you could get them out."

"I don't know what you expect me to do, Kira."

"I want… I wish I could just flip my personality upside-down or something…"

Hanataro's ears perked up at this.

"I keep telling you, you're overreacting! You're not as bad as you say you are, Kira."

"W- wait a minute!"

They all turned to Hanataro in surprise. Even he seemed surprised at himself.

"I- I mean… That is…"

"Well, spit it out."

He gulped. "Well… It's just that… I went on a mission not too long ago. My squad was sent to a village not too far away. They had been attacked and couldn't treat their wounds, so we-"

"Get to the point!"

He flinched. "Ah! R- right! Anyway, while we were there, this little kid kept pestering us. He took my medic pack and threw it up in a tree. It took me ages to get it down. But while I was climbing the tree I couldn't help but notice a woman call him into her home. By the time I got my pack down, he was outside again and he was like a completely different person. He was so nice and polite to everyone. I've never seen anything like it."

"For real?! What happened?"

"I'm not sure. But as we were leaving, I asked a couple of the villagers who she was and all they told me was that she was a miracle worker! It's as if she can change people's personalities for the better or something. It was amazing!"

Kira jumped over to Hanataro and held him by his shoulders, demanding attention. "Who is she?! Where can I find her?!"

"C- calm down! Calm down! I- I'm not sure… But I can find out. I can asked to go back to the village on personal business. I'm sure Captain Unohana will let me."

"Now wait just a minute!" Rangiku intervened. "What's all this about? You're just gonna go to this woman and ask her to change who you are?"

"Yep!"

"No way! Don't do that! I keep telling you, you're fine the way you are."

"Ma… Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea…" said Hanataro quietly. "I mean, there are times when I wish I could be as strong and powerful as the members of squad 11. They're monsters! So strong and tough… No wonder they make fun of the people on squad 4... Compared to them, we're weaklings…"

"Don't tell me you've always felt this way," Rangiku said, disbelieving eyes resting on his head.

Hanataro looked away from her. "Well… Not always… Just sometimes… I mean, wouldn't you if you got picked on all the time?"

Kira clenched his fists. "It's settled, then. We'll get a hold of this woman and see what we can do!"

"We?" Rangiku and Hanataro said at once.

"Yes, we. You have to find her…" He put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Hmm… And it wouldn't be a bad idea to see if there was anything she could do for you, Hanataro."

"Eh?!" Said Soul Reaper's eyes went even wider than usual.

Rangiku stepped in front of him. "No way! Are you seriously thinking about having his personality changed as well as yours?!"

Kira nodded.

"I don't believe you! I can't believe you would take a little bit of teasing to heart! It was just that one time."

"You tell me that all the time! Remember last week at the bar?"

"Oh, please. I was drunk then!"

"What about all the times when you're sober? You always call me names and make fun of me."

"I do it to everyone. Haven't you noticed how I always draw attention to Ikkaku's bald head? I keep telling you that you're being way too sensitive about this whole thing. You're making a mountain out of a tiny, tiny little mole hill. You're making yourself out to be-"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind giving personality alteration a try," Hanataro piped up from the doorway. "It may be a whole new experience. You know, walk a mile in another's shoes? I could learn something from this… It may not be such a bad idea after all. I- I'd like to give it a try."

Kira gave him a thumbs-up.

Rangiku shook her head. "You too? How could you even think that?"

"I- I'm tired of being picked on by the members of the 11th division. Maybe if I have my personality changed into something more brave, they'll respect me more. Who knows? We may even get along much better. I'd like to try it out."

Rangiku slapped her forehead. Why did they feel so strongly about all this today? Why were they doing this? What brought it on so suddenly?

Hanataro jumped up and promised to get Kira the necessary information about the woman and try to arrange a meeting with her in the near future. If all went well, both he and Kira would have all new personalities in no time at all. Kira couldn't wait. But Rangiku? She just wondered why all this was happening to her today…

That, and how badly they would screw this up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

OK so there's the set-up...

I just couldn't wait to write this one. It gets pretty funny. I don't have it all worked out just yet, so we'll see where it goes from here.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Two days passed since they had that conversation. Rangiku had hoped that that would be enough time for both of them to forget the whole thing ever happened. By now, hopefully, Kira had forgotten the whole thing and was once again happy with himself. No such luck. When Hanataro showed up the next day telling them that he had gotten a hold of the woman, Kira could hardly contain his joy. He actually hugged Hanataro in gratitude on the spot.

From this point, she knew things would only get worse.

Hitsugaya looked over his paperwork at her as she paced the room. "Would you please stop that? It's very distracting."

She didn't comply. She just kept pacing, never looking up at him. "Ohh! I just can't sit still! How could they go and ruin themselves like this? How could they be so stupid?"

He put down his papers. "Ok. What happened now?"

She told him the whole story. "So now Kira's got this bright idea that he has to go change himself so he can be more manly or something… I'm just so worried! What if something bad happens?"

"Why? Just how are they doing this personality switch thing?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But all I know is that Hanataro got a hold of this woman who can supposedly do it and are meeting her today."

"Where?"

"Here. Hanataro arranged it so she could visit here for the afternoon. They're in Kira's office right now. But I have no idea what it is that they are doing! Ohh, how could he even think that he's as big a clumsy, pathetic, weak-minded idiot as he says he is?"

"Well… you tell him that all the time."

"It was a joke!"

"Come on. You of all people should know how Kira is. He is a very sensitive guy, after all. But who can blame him for that?"

She finally stopped pacing. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can hardly blame the guy for trying to better himself. I mean, how would you feel if your own captain betrays you and the whole Soul Society, the very person you are to protect with your life? The man you look up to?"

"True…" she said after a while. "He's still beating himself up for what happened to Momo. He called himself a monster for that. I know he feels terrible for what he did… I guess I can't blame him too much. But still, personality alteration? Seems a bit extreme if you ask me."

Hitsugaya placed another sheet of paperwork on the finished pile, keeping his eyes down. "It's just another hair-brained scheme. Nothing too bad can come from it. Just let it go."

"But I'm worried about him for once! What if he changes himself for the worst? What if it's irreversible? What if he's like a whole other person entirely? Nothing good can come from this."

Hitsugaya kept filing papers. "It's not that big a deal," he told her. "There's nothing to worry about."

"But what about Hanataro? You know how clumsy and stupid he can be. What if he goes through with it, too? What if he changes his personality into some kind of dirty, smelly, mean biker guy or something? Can you picture him like that, Captain?"

His eye twitched. Then he regained his composure and continued filing paperwork. "There isn't a problem. Everything's going to be fine. I'm not worried at all." No sooner had he spoken these words did he get up from his seat and move towards the door. "And just to prove to you that there isn't anything to worry about, I'm going to go check on them myself." With that, he left the room.

Rangiku smiled to herself. "Aw, Captain… You really do care..!"

~*~*~

Hitsugaya made his way down the hall and over to Kira's office. He knocked on the door.

It opened to reveal Kira standing there with a nervous expression. "Oh. Afternoon, Captain Hitsugaya."

He didn't return his greeting. Instead he pushed his way into the room and got a good look around. There were two chairs next to each other facing the opposite wall. Those must have been for them… Also in the room was a young woman with long blond hair braided to the side. She looked no older than 19 or so. And she was very pretty. She spotted Hitsugaya and waved. He looked away from her and faced Kira. "Just what the hell is going on?"

"Just what I told Rangiku the other day. I'm sick of being a weakling. I want to be strong inside and out." Kira placed a hand over his heart as if swearing an oath.

Hitsugaya groaned. "You've gotta be… Listen to me, Kira. You're not as bad as you're making yourself out to be. You're exaggerating."

"Jeez! Now you sound like Rangiku! Why can't you just let me do this? It's what I want."

"But you don't even know what she's going to do to you," he argued back.

"Actually, we do!" Hanataro said cheerfully. "Turns out she's a hypnotist. And a very good one at that."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at him. "She's a what?"

"A skilled hypnotist."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please! Don't tell me you believe in that stuff. That's complete nonsense!"

"Is not! Look, she'll put us in trances and command us to take on new personalities. Later on if we wish, she'll remove the spell. It's completely safe!"

"Hanataro…"

"No, really! I mean it! For real!"

The woman called them over. "Gentlemen, it's time we got started." She ordered them to their seats and looked at Hitsugaya. "Oh, hello there. Would you like to join them, too?"

"No," he said flatly.

"I see. Well, it was nice meeting you. If you please, I'd like to get started."

Hitsugaya tapped Kira on the shoulder. "Are you _sure _you want to go through with this?"

He nodded. "Yes! I'm very sure, yes."

Seeing that he couldn't talk them out of it, he turned and walked out the door and down the hall.

_They're idiots… Both of them! I can't believe they're really going to… Ugh! Morons!_

He stomped down the hall muttering under his breath, not realizing that his legs were unconsciously carrying him back to the room. Deep down he really wanted to stop them… Or was an unseen force pulling him back to the room?

He stood outside the door for a moment and then, ever so slowly, pushed it open.

There they were, both Kira and Hanataro sitting in their chairs, watching the woman swing a shinny pendulum in front of their eyes.

Hitsugaya mentally scoffed. _Please… Like that's really going to do anything. Don't hypnotists use watches for this type of stuff anyway?_

Back and forth it swung, catching the light on its shinny jewel. Hitsugaya could hear her speaking softly to them as they began to relax.

_Typical hypnotist stuff… The 'you're getting very sleepy' crap. Only a weak-minded fool would fall for such a cheap trick._

The sparkling jewel swayed to the rhythm of her voice. A very soft soothing voice.

"Now feel yourself relax even further," she told them. "Let yourselves go. Feel you eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Feel all the stress drain from your bodies."

It seemed to be working, despite Hitsugaya's criticisms. Kira had never looked so calm before in his life. And all the stress seemed to have gone out of Hanataro's body as well. They looked very distant and dreamy. And it wasn't long at all before Kira's head started to bob a little.

Hitsugaya vaguely noticed this before his eyes became overcome by the pendulum's swinging movements. He leaned against the doorframe. _Hypnotism… What a joke… This is so stupid… It'll never work… It's just mind over matter… They just think it's working when it's not. It's all a fake… Not real… Not real at all_…

Hanataro's eyes started to flutter as he watched the pendulum and listened to her voice. He looked completely out of it.

Hitsugaya's eyes started to droop a little as well. He was feeling very relaxed all of a sudden. It was a nice feeling. A good feeling. Maybe that's why he didn't question it. He liked it. He concentrated on the swinging jewel dangling from her hand. _Wow, that's so pretty…_ he thought dreamily. He didn't know why he was thinking that. He just did. Come to think about it, he had completely forgotten what he was saying before. Something about hypnosis and how it didn't work. Oh, well. It didn't really matter to him anymore. He just wanted to watch the pendulum.

Kira's eyelids hovered and his head bobbed a little. Hanataro's eyes had come to a close and he slumped to the left, propping himself up against Kira's warm body. Feeling comfortable, he rested his head on Kira's shoulder. Kira didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to like it. It was like having a nice warm teddy bear to snuggle with. He slumped against Hanataro as well. This was nice.

Hitsugaya's mind had gone completely blank. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so relaxed… and sleepy. Very sleepy. Standing was too much for him. He slid his shoulder down the doorframe and allowed his legs to give way beneath him. He sat on the ground still watching the pendulum through half-lidded eyes.

"Now… when I count down to zero, you will feel more and more relaxed. When I get to zero, you will be in a complete trance. Ok? Three…"

Hitsugaya let out a contented sigh.

Kira's eyes drooped a little more.

Hanataro snored.

"Two…"

They felt wonderful

"One… Zero."

Kira's eyes suddenly clamped shut and rested his head on Hanataro's. Hanataro didn't move at all. Hitsugaya's head fell forward as his eyes shut tight, slumped in the doorway.

The woman looked at the two men in front of her with satisfaction. She gave them another minute to enjoy their trances before she spoke. "Now… when I clap my hands, you will awaken from your trances. But when I do, you will not be yourselves."

Hanataro drooled all over Kira's shoulder.

"… You will allow yourselves to let go…"

They remained quietly in their seats.

"You have an inner-self that's been waiting to get out. Your inner-self is the you that you keep bottled up inside. The self that you never want to let out for whatever reason."

Hitsugaya listened to her words very carefully.

"But you're going to let them out now. The you deep within... When I clap my hands and awaken you, you will allow your inner-selves to take over. Their personality becomes your own. You will become your inner-self. Allow them to be free. The you that hides inside… Let them out."

They all nodded their heads robotically.

She gave them a minute to let the command soak in. Then she stood back and clapped.

They all jumped at the sudden sharp noise which startled them awake. Kira bolted upright in his chair causing Hanataro to be flung out of his and onto the floor. Hitsugaya jolted and his head snapped up, looking around in confusion. Why was he sitting on the floor like this? What was he doing here? And why couldn't he remember anything that had happened in the last few minutes?

The woman helped Hanataro to his feet. "Are you ok?"

He stood up shakily. "Uh… Yeah, I think so… I'm just a bit dizzy."

"That'll happen. Just relax and you'll be fine."

Kira looked down at himself. "I… I don't feel any different. Did it work?"

"It takes a little time. The more drastic the changes, the more time it'll take. But don't worry. It worked. It just takes a few minutes for the commands to sink in."

Kira didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

"Ahem!"

They looked up to see Hitsugaya standing in the doorway. Hanataro bowed respectfully to him. "Hello again, Captain Hitsugaya."

"What are you still doing here?" Kira asked.

Hitsugaya drummed his fingers on his folded arm looking rather annoyed. "I came back here to make sure you guys didn't make complete asses out of yourselves."

The woman smiled at him. "They're just fine. We-"

"I don't want to here it. If you're finished then perhaps you should leave. We normally don't allow outsiders in this part of the building."

"But we got special permission from-"

"I know you did. But now that her work is done, she shouldn't be here for too much longer. Security thing. You know how it is."

Kira frowned. He really wanted her to stick around to see if the hypnosis really did work on him or not. He asked her politely to get packed up so that she could leave and thanked her for coming out so far for this. She told him it was no problem and was her pleasure to help.

Hitsugaya turned and went back to his office. That mountain of paperwork was waiting for him and if he didn't do it, it would never get done. God knows that Rangiku would never touch it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

YAY! Another chapter up! ^-^

But now what's going to happen once their commands kick in? Read and find out!

Thanks for reading so far. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

_I swear, those two get stupider every time I see them_… Hitsugaya made his way back to his office in a very bad mood. He felt as if he had been woken from a very peaceful sleep in the most rude way possible. That was the only way he could describe it.

He got to the door and opened it. Rangiku was long gone. Possibly out getting drunk somewhere, no doubt. But as long as she wasn't here, he could have some peace and quiet while he did his work. He sat down at his desk and picked up a new document from the 'in' pile. He read it over and tapped his pen on the desktop. He frowned and read it over again. And again.

This was such a headache. All these words… All this paper… What a pain!

Then he set down the document and sat back in his chair. For some strange reason, he suddenly didn't feel like doing paperwork. Of course, it was never something he enjoyed doing, but it still had to get done. But for some odd reason, he had lost his will to do it. The spark was gone. He didn't feel like doing work.

He kicked his legs and spun around in his chair. Being in this room all by himself was so boring. But he didn't want to do work. So what else was there to do? There must be something fun to do around here.

He looked down at his desk and saw the paperwork staring back at him. Paper… He picked up a piece of paper and folded it in half. Then he folded it again. And again. Hitsugaya held up the folded paper in his hand proudly. He had folded it into a paper airplane. He tossed it into the air and watched it sail across the room and land by the bookcase. He smiled and folded another one. This was fun! Before long, the entire office was filled with paper airplanes.

Hitsugaya sat back in his chair and admired his work. Making paper airplanes was fun and all, but it got boring quickly. So now what? He kicked his legs and rocked back and forth in the chair. He took another piece of paper and looked at it. He moaned. He really didn't want to do paperwork.

_What the hell am I saying?! Of course I have to do it! It'll never get done if I don't! Sure it's no fun, but I have to do it!_

Hitsugaya forced himself to pick up his pen and put it down on the paper, ready to get started. Only the pen never moved. This was too hard! He just couldn't bring himself to fill out these forms. No! He had to force himself to do so. He had to! He forced his pen to move across the page.

But he wasn't writing. He was doodling.

He drew in the margins and the spaces between the words. Soon the entire document was covered with squiggly lines and stick figures. He sat back and admired his work. He held up the picture proudly and gave a satisfied nod. He was a better artist than he thought.

But now he was bored again. He turned his chair around and stared out the window. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining and there were just the right amount of clouds in the sky. It was beautiful. It almost made him feel like jumping around and playing in the sunshine.

Hitsugaya mentally slapped himself in the face. _What the hell am I thinking?! Playing? I don't have time for that! I've got work to do! I can't be dwelling on such childish thoughts! _He turned around in his chair and went back to work. Or tried to at least. It was so difficult to get started. But why? He was usually such a workaholic… So why freeze up now?

His stomach growled.

Oh, that must be the problem. He was hungry! A quick snack and he'd be ready to go. He got up from his seat and went down the hall towards the kitchen.

He walked right in and looked around for some food. He spotted a large platter of fresh fruits sitting in the middle of the long table. He hurried over to it and reached for an apple. No good. It was too far away. He got on his toes and stretched. He still couldn't reach it. Why did it have to be in the middle of such a huge table? And why, oh, why did he have to be so short?! With little choice, Hitsugaya climbed onto the table and crawled over to the fruit platter. As he reached for the apple, he noticed something else. Something even better. A large pile of freshly sliced watermelon. He crawled on his hands and knees over to the tray and grabbed the biggest piece he could get his hands on. He griped it in both hands and took a huge bite. It was so tasty! Oh, how he loved watermelon. Its juice dripped down his hands and soaked the tabletop he was sitting on. But he didn't care. He took another bite and spat out the crunchy black seeds.

"Uh… Captain?"

He glanced up to see Hisagi staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Mmm?" he asked through a mouthful of watermelon.

"What are you doing?"

Hitsugaya looked down at himself. He had completely forgotten that he was still sitting on the table. His feet were dangling over the side and he was holding the watermelon in both hands, dripping the juice everywhere. How childish! He must have looked like a 4-year-old! He lowered the watermelon and looked at his feet, embarrassed.

"What?" Hisagi asked. If Hitsugaya was ever embarrassed, he looked pissed off. But he saw something quite different this time. This time, Hitsugaya looked bashful.

Hitsugaya raised his angry eyes up at Hisagi.

Scratch that. He was pissed off.

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at him. "What? I'm short, ok?! What of it?!"

Hisagi shrugged and backed away. "Nothing, nothing! I was just asking was all. No need to bite my head off."

Hitsugaya was about ready to glare at him and come up with a retort, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it. For some odd reason, he felt strange. He felt… guilty. He felt bad for snapping at Hisagi. For hurting his feelings. He felt bad. He wanted make it up to him. He didn't know why. All he knew was that he felt this way for some strange reason.

"Uh… Sorry…"

Hisagi did a double-take. "Say what?"

"Sorry I snapped at you, ok?"

Hisagi blinked, unsure of what to do next. On a hunch he said, "Uh… No problem..?" This wasn't like Hitsugaya. This was… awkward.

With his conscience clear, Hitsugaya went back to eating.

~*~*~

After his snack, Hitsugaya took to walking around the building. Anything to avoid that paperwork. He never realized just how big the Soul Society was. This place was huge! He walked and walked until he came to a stop in front of a familiar room.

It was Ukitake's office.

A strange feeling came over him at that moment. He had a sudden urge for…

He gave his head a shake. What was he thinking? He couldn't give in to these strange feelings. Why he was having them now was beyond him, but he couldn't allow himself to give in. He had to resist temptation. But there was something urging him on. Something pulling him in, urging him to go on. To give in to these feelings. To let himself do as he pleased.

Unaware of what he was doing, Hitsugaya's legs carried him towards the office and knocked on the door.

Ukitake looked up. "Come in!"

Hitsugaya stuck his head into the room.

The older captain's face lit up the second he saw him. "Oh, Hitsugaya! How nice to see you! How are you?"

Hitsugaya bashfully looked away and hid his body behind the door. "Um… Hi."

Ukitake beamed at him. "What brings you out here?"

Hitsugaya nervously looked around the room. "Uh… I was… wondering… if you… if you…" He gulped. This was embarrassing to ask for. Especially when he normally refused such a thing. "If you… had any… sweets..?"

Ukitake blinked and then happily reached into his desk and pulled out a large sack of candy. He smiled at Hitsugaya and tossed him the bag. "There you go! All yours! Let me know if you want anymore."

Hitsugaya griped the sack tightly in his arms, thanked Ukitake and ran back to his office.

He kicked his door open and threw the sack onto the couch. He jumped onto the couch as well and sat next to it. He opened the sack and peered inside. There were oodles and oodles of different sized sweets, all wrapped up in brightly colored wrappers. He fished around until his fingers closed around a decent sized chocolate bar and pulled it out. It looked pretty good. And it smelled tasty. He slowly unwrapped the multi-colored paper and peeled back the foil underneath. He took a small test bite.

It was like a little taste of heaven! Chocolate tasted fantastic! He took another bite, this one bigger than the other. He loved the taste of chocolate. He loved how it melted on his tongue and had such a satisfying milky aftertaste. He loved it so much.

Once he finished off that chocolate bar, he dove inside for another. But instead he ended up grabbing something else. Some sort of pink, soft, fluffy sweet wrapped up in a package only slightly smaller than his head. Cotton candy. He knew of it, but he had never tasted it before. He unwrapped the package and tore off a small section of it and popped it into his mouth. It tasted sweet. Like cherry, almost. What a strange flavor… Just as he got ready to chew it, it vanished. The cotton candy had disappeared!

He blinked in surprise. Did cotton candy always melt so quickly in your mouth? He ripped off another piece and tried again. The same thing happened as before. So it did melt quickly. What a fun treat!

The door opened and in stepped Rangiku. She was surprised to see that Hitsugaya was not at his desk. And that the room was filled with folded pieces of paper. She looked over and spotted him on the couch… eating candy?

"Captain?"

He swallowed. "What?"

"What are you doing here? Did you get that from Ukitake?"

He nodded innocently. Then his expression changed to his usual scowl. "And what do you mean, what am I doing here? I should be asking you that. Where were you all afternoon?"

She looked away sheepishly. "Nowhere in particular. By the way, how did things go with Kira and Hanataro?"

He shrugged. "They seemed fine. Nothing really dangerous…"

"How were they planning on doing it? Changing themselves, I mean."

He scrunched up his face in annoyance. "Ah… This stupid hypnotism junk… They had this woman come in and try to hypnotize them. I doubt if it worked. I believe that if you _think_ it worked, it'll work. Then and only then. I just think it's all so stupid."

"Were you there? Did you see it happen?"

Hitsugaya thought for a moment. "I… I think so…"

"You think so?"

He frowned, thinking hard. His memory was muddled. "Uh… Yeah, yeah, I was. But I think I missed most of it. When I got there, they were finished, I think."

"You sure?'

"Yeah. I remember seeing them in a couple chairs, then I saw them get up. I think I caught them right at the end. They were ending it."

"So you were there? Where were you?'

"Just outside the door. What do you care? Is it that big a deal?"

Rangiku shook her head. "No. I was just curious. That's all."

Hitsugaya took out another piece of candy and offered it to her. "Want some?"

"Uh… No thanks."

He shrugged and took a bite.

It was getting late. He'd better not eat too much sugar otherwise he'll never be able to get to sleep tonight. Maybe he'd do that paperwork tomorrow. Maybe he'd be in a more ambitious mood then.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's getting more interesting now! XD

Let's see how bad he gets in the next chapter!

Please review so I'll be more eager to update!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Hitsugaya carried the leftover sack back to his home and tossed it on the table. This was turning out to be a very strange day. But this was hardly the time to be thinking about that. It was late and he was tired. He took off his captain's jacket and his black kimono, dawned his casual sleepwear and went to his room.

He stopped in the doorway. This room… his room… it was so… big. A big spacious room all to himself. So wide and empty. He gulped. Was it always this big? He looked around. There was his closet, his dresser, his table, his armchair, and his large bed. This was his room alright. He griped his clothes tightly and crept inside. He tossed his kimono in his armchair and rested his zanpakuto safely against the wall next to his bed within easy reach. He pulled back the covers and crawled into bed.

He laid down and tucked the covers up over his chin and griped them tightly in both hands, peering around the room with fearful eyes. This room was too big and dark. It was so empty, and lonely. So… scary. He didn't like it. He didn't want to be in here. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted someone with him.

_What am I thinking? I sleep in here all the time without a problem. I've done so for years! This is all in my head. I've got to snap out of it!_

He saw a shadow pass over his wall causing the room to temporarily darken. He squeaked and hid under the covers. This was too scary! There must have been a monster or something in his room! He carefully peered out from his hiding place and looked around. The shadow had turned out to be nothing more than a cloud passing over the moon.

He let out a sigh. But he was still frightened. He didn't want to be alone in this dark, empty, scary room. He shut his eyes and tried to force himself to go to sleep. Everyone knows that there was no way to truly force yourself to sleep. But it was worth a shot.

He heard an abrupt noise from outside his window and he bolted upright in bed. That was it! It was far too scary to stay in here all by himself. He threw off the covers, grabbed a small blanket from the foot of his bed and bolted out the door. He had to get away from this place. He had to find someone to protect him from all the scary things.

~*~*~

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Rangiku shouted and hurried to answer the door. No sooner had she opened the door did a small bundle of white fluff come flying at her and wrapped its arms around her torso, clenching her reveling nightdress in fear. "Cap- Captain?! What are you doing out here?"

The blanket slipped from his shoulders and fell around his ankles as he squeezed her tight, burying his face in her stomach. "'M scared..!" he mumbled into her body.

"Scared? Of what?"

He looked up at her with fearful eyes. "Please… C- can I stay with you tonight?"

"What?!"

"Please? Just for tonight? I promise!"

She looked around as if to find an answer sitting on a wall close by. This was so unlike him. But she just couldn't say no to his pleading eyes and cute, fear stricken face. "Oh, alright. But-"

"Thank you!" He broken the embrace and burst into the house, exploring his new surroundings. Rangiku's home was much smaller than his. But it was still homey. He liked it here. He bounced around the house, running from room to room and touching everything he could get his hands on.

Rangiku chased after her captain and found him in the kitchen. He had his nose in a teapot. He looked up as she entered the room. "Can I have something to drink, please?"

"Uh… Ok… What would you like?"

"Milk, please."

_Milk? He must be trying to grew taller_… "Ok, milk it is." She brought him a glass of milk and watched him gulp the thing down. He wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand and gave the empty cup back to her. "Feeling any better?"

He nodded. "Thanks!"

She studied him for a moment before asking. "Are you feeling ok?"

He gave her a sad look. "I'm… just scared to sleep alone tonight. That's all."

"Why? What happened?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. I just felt scared for some reason. Please don't make a big deal out of it."

"Uh, sure. No problem." She didn't want to pry any further than she needed to. Anything from ticking him off at this late hour.

She escorted him to the bedroom and showed him the bed. "So, uh… How do you want to do this? Do you want to sleep on a cot? Or would you rather sleep in the bed? Or we could- Hey! Captain!"

Hitsugaya was jumping up and down on the bed, giggling as if it were a game. "This is so bouncy and soft!" He looked up. "What's wrong, Rangiku? Why don't you join me?"

This was all too weird. Why was he acting like a child? "Captain, please. It's time for bed. We have to get up in the morning."

He stopped bouncing. "Oh, yeah! That's right…" He let out a yawn. "And I'm getting kinda sleepy as well. Bed seems like a good idea." He crawled under the covers.

Rangiku turned and tried to leave the room to find something else to sleep on.

"Wait! Where are you going? Don't leave me all alone!"

She jumped and spun around. "I'm not leaving. I'm just trying to find another bed of some kind to sleep in. That's all."

Hitsugaya shook his head. "No. You don't have to. You can sleep here!" He patted the spot on the bed next to him. "You can sleep with me."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Uh… Well…" _Ok, calm down! It's not like we're going to be doing anything. We're just going to sleep together. Oh, but that sounds so wrong! But we're not! We're just going to sleep. That's it. Just like at a children's slumber party. Nothing wrong with that._

Hitsugaya was getting impatient. "Come on!"

She stepped over to the bed and very slowly climbed inside. He wrapped his arms around her immediately. She blinked. This was _so_ unlike him. "Captain..?"

He snuggled closer to her. "What?"

"Nothing…"

He closed his eyes and yawned. "Thanks for letting me stay here tonight. I don't know what's gotten into me, but…" He started to drift off. "Thanks for being so nice to me, Rangiku."

She patted his head and looked away. "You're welcome." She would be enjoying this a whole lot more if it weren't so awkward. She kept getting the feeling that something was wrong. But when she glanced back down, she saw that Hitsugaya had already fallen asleep.

With a sigh, she pulled the covers over her body and closed her eyes as well. She'd figure this thing out tomorrow. Right now, it was too late.

~*~*~

When Rangiku woke the next morning, she found Hitsugaya sprawled out over the bed with half his body draped over hers. He had been doing that all night. He kept moving around in his sleep, stretching out over the entire bed and kicking her off the edge. He also snored. And drooled. But at least he slept well.

But now it was time to get up. She gently removed Hitsugaya's limbs from her body and gave his shoulder a shake. "Psst, Captain? Captain, it's time to wake up."

He gave a sleepy moan and curled up into a tighter ball, refusing to budge. When she shook him again, he replied in a whiny voice, "No..! Don't wanna! Wanna sleep… Please..!"

"Captain, we have to go. It's morning."

He buried his face in the pillow. "Mmm! Five more minutes..!"

"Ok. Five minutes. Then we have to get going."

She got out of bed and made herself some breakfast and some tea. Once finished, she got dressed into her Soul Reaper uniform and looked at the clock on the wall. It had been ten minutes. She went back to the bedroom and gave him another shake. "Come on, Captain. It's time to go. You've slept enough."

He moaned and turned away from her. He wasn't budging. So she did what she had to do. She ripped off the covers and picked him up. He struggled and made desperate grabs for the warm covers, but she had a solid hold on him.

That's when she noticed something: he wasn't properly dressed. He was still wearing his sleepwear. There was no way he'd go in to work wearing something like that. The material was far too thin to keep him warm! And he would probably be made fun of for showing up to work like that, too…

"One quick stop, first," she told him. "You have to get dressed.

She carried him to his house and into his bedroom. She set him down on his own two feet and waited. He wobbled and swayed still groggy from sleep. He gave her a sleepy look and rubbed his eyes.

"Get dressed," she told him.

With a nod, he turned into the room and got dressed in his black kimono and captain's jacket. He stepped out still rubbing his eyes. He wordlessly reached up with both hands and waited.

"What?"

"Pick me up," he mumbled. "I'm too tired to walk. Please?"

Maybe it was against her better judgment, but she bent down and told him to climb on. She piggybacked him all the way to his office.

This was cute and all, but she had to wonder why he was acting so strangely. Could sleep-deprivation be the cause of it? He was known for pulling all-nighters to get his work done on time. Perhaps it finally caught up to him.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Matsumoto. Captain Hitsugaya."

She looked up to see Unohana walking passed them with her usual smile. "Good morning."

Unohana looked at the bundle on Rangiku's back. "Oh, what do we have here?"

Hitsugaya slyly hid his face in Rangiku's back, clinging to her kimono.

Unohana's smile deepened and stroked his back. "What's the matter? Are you feeling alright?"

Hitsugaya glanced up, peeking through one eye. Unohana was smiling at him. She was a very pretty woman. So motherly. And having those eyes and that smile upon him made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He couldn't help but blush. Blush? How embarrassing! He bashfully hid his face behind Rangiku again.

Unohana chuckled and stroked his back again. "You're awfully shy today, Captain."

"I know he is…" Rangiku gave a small sigh. "But I don't know why he's acting this way. It's so odd. Normally I'd enjoy this, but I'm so worried about him. I hope he's ok."

"Would you like me to check him over?"

"Could you?"

The women took Hitsugaya into his office and set him down on the couch. He looked around curiously and then back at the woman in front of him. Unohana leaned down in his face and smiled. "It's just a little check-up. Nothing to worry about."

But he was worried. The second he heard 'check-up', he panicked. Check-ups had needles and painful things. Normally he'd suffer through the pain in silence so as not to embarrass himself from being such a big baby about needles. But deep down, he was afraid of them. Though he tried not to show it, he hated needles and would much rather jump out the window than take one.

He scrambled back and tried to jumped off the couch, but his lieutenant held him back.

"What's wrong with you, Captain?"

"I don't want a needle! Get her away from me! I don't want a check-up! I don't need one! I'm fine! Please, let me go! No shots! No needles! No!" He flailed and kicked about, trying to get away.

But Unohana knew just how to deal with fussy children. "Hitsugaya, I'm not going to give you a shot. I was just going to see if you liked this special lollipop I was going to give you."

His ears perked up and he stopped thrashing. He turned his head around to look at her and see if she was telling the truth. Sure enough, she was holding a big lollipop in her hand. His eyes widened. That thing was the size of his fist!

"But, you don't seem to want it, so…" She started to put it away.

But Hitsugaya made a lunge for it. "No! Wait!" His hands closed around the stick, keeping her from putting it away. "I do want it! I'll eat it. Please…"

She smiled and held it inches from his face. "If you want this, you have to sit down like a good boy and not fuss. Can you do that for me?"

He nodded vigorously and sat on the couch, not moving a muscle. She handed him the lollipop. He snatched it up in the blink of an eye and popped it into his mouth. It was watermelon flavor.

As he sucked on his treat, Unohana got to work checking him over. She felt his forehead and cheeks for any sign of fever. She then used her talents as a medical Soul Reaper to check his body, running her hands over every square inch of him.

Hitsugaya watched her the entire time with wide curious eyes, lollipop sticking out of his mouth.

She stood up. "He has no injuries or a fever. No sign of brain damage, either. He's fine."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes. Now I really have to get going. I have to go down to the medical wing and check up on a few injured Soul Reapers."

"Are they ok?"

"Nothing too serious. Just a Hollow attack. They'll live."

Hitsugaya sucked on his lollipop happily as the two women spoke to each other. He never realized just how interesting everything was around here. But he was also disappointed. There were no toys to play with. How boring.

His normal, more rational self was fighting for control again. Only this time, he sounded much softer and further away. Almost like he was getting weaker and weaker. Or fading away. His inner-self had almost completely taken over now. Sleeping all through the night and allowing his unconsciousness to rule must have helped with this. After a good night's sleep, his inner-self had become much stronger and was pushing him away, locking him up in the deep chambers of his brain. Growing up, he found himself to be very mature for his age. Knowing that, he had deprived himself from anything childish, insisting that he was a mature adult. And as an adult, they never ever play with toys or games or anything like that. His inner self, the childish side of him, always wanted to play. He wanted to have fun. But his outer self, the one in control, never allowed it. As much as the inner-self wanted to act his age, the rational Hitsugaya wouldn't let him.

But now things were different. Now _he_ was in control. And he wanted to play and be a kid. He wanted to have fun. And he had a lot of time to make up for. All these years, Hitsugaya kept him locked up, preventing him for enjoying himself. That was all about to change. He was the side that Hitsugaya never wanted to let out. He wanted to be an adult. His inner-self was more shy and happy, playful and curious. He just couldn't allow people to see him like that. They'd judge him. Make fun of him. Never take him seriously as a captain. And even before he was a captain, he wanted to be seen as an adult. Even if he was a genius, no one would take him seriously if he acted his age... If he was childish. So he locked up that part of him.

But now, for some strange, unexplainable reason, that cage was unlocked and he was allowed to be childish. Now he could be a kid. Now he could, at last, be free. To do what he wanted, to act on impulse. To be as childish as he pleased.

Now, Hitsugaya could take a back seat and watch his inner-self for a change. Because soon, very soon, he wouldn't have any say in any of it. His voice was getting weaker and his inner-self was getting stronger. Soon he would take over completely.

Whether he liked it or not.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

HAHA! Childish side's gonna rule over him! This is gonna be fun!

Kira and Hanataro are gonna show up in the next one, I think.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Hitsugaya didn't do anything. No paperwork. No nothing. He just sat on the couch and gnawed on the lollipop stick. Rangiku was sure that something was wrong with her captain. Normally he didn't act this way. Not ever. Something must be wrong.

They both jumped when they heard howling from the hall. Rangiku got up and marched over to the door. Hitsugaya chased after her and clung to her kimono, preventing any chance of escape. He still didn't want to be alone. She opened the door.

Outside she could see Ikkaku and… Kira?! Yes, Kira. He and Ikkaku had their arms around each other's shoulders as they strut down the hall, laughing all they way. She reached out and pulled Kira away from Ikkaku. "Kira, what the heck are you doing?"

He struggled to regain balance and met eyes with her. "What do you mean? I'm hanging out with Ikkaku, that's what I'm doing. Why?"

She shook her head. "No, I meant why. You two seem awfully chummy with each other today. Anything going on?"

Kira stared at her blankly.

"Never mind. So how did your little get-together go yesterday with that woman?"

"Wom-? Oh! Her!" He suddenly started bouncing, excited about something. "Oh, it was awesome! It turned out better than I had hoped! It really worked! It took a little while, but as you can see I'm so much better."

"I thought you were fine before, Kira. There was really no need for that. So what happened?"

Kira spread his arms out wide allowing her to take a good look at him. "I..!" he announced dramatically. "… am now officially no longer a giant wimp and/or coward! You're looking at the new and improved Kira. Ever since that hypnotism kicked in, I haven't second guessed myself once. I'm so much more confident now!"

Rangiku felt a tug on her arm. She looked down and saw Hitsugaya peering shyly from behind her body up at Kira. He was hiding most of his body from view.

She looked away from him and back at Kira. "So this is what you wanted?"

"You bet it is!" he laughed. "In fact, I'm a much better fighter now, too! I just came back in from a duel with Ikkaku. And guess what… _I_ challenged _him_!"

Her jaw dropped. "What?!"

"That's right! And you know what else? After the fight he said that I was a worthy opponent! _Me_! He liked battling me! I had fun, too! It was a blast! In fact, I want to do it again!"

"For real?"

"Yeah!" Kira was never this enthusiastic before. That hypnosis must have worked. "Well, I'll be seeing you."

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Drinking with Ikkaku."

She blinked. "Now? It's not even noon yet."

He scoffed. "That's never stopped you."

"But… you never drink! I have to either dare you to do it or pour it down your throat. Now you're willing to do it?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so… Ha! Another change! Hey, you wanna join us?"

"I… I better not. I'd better stay here and look after Hitsugaya. He's been acting odd lately."

"Oh?" Kira glanced at the young captain who hid behind Rangiku's legs. "He doesn't seem all that bad." He straightened up. "But you know, Rangiku… That's what I like about you. Even though sometimes you can come off as scatterbrained and a bit ditsy, you still seem to know what you're doing half the time."

"I'll take that as a complement…"

"It was meant as one! You always look out for Hitsugaya. And you always seem to know what's best for him."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, aren't you the one who convinced him to become a Soul Reaper in the first place? That's one example. You're always looking out for him… Yup, I can tell! Sometimes, you just know what you're doing."

She raised an eyebrow. Kira was spitting off nonsense and he wasn't even drunk yet!

Ikkaku waved. "Come on, Kira! Don't keep me waiting!"

"Coming!" Kira ran off with Ikkaku and the two of them went to the bar.

Rangiku slumped in defeat. This was just plain strange. Having Kira acting so out of his usual character was… well, weird. She missed the old Kira already. This one was just strange. But it was something that she just had to get used to.

Hitsugaya tugged on her arm again and looked up at her with pleading eyes. He wanted something. Maybe he was bored. Did he want to be entertained? This was a pain. He had been very clingy lately. Always wanting to be with her or someone. He was acting so strange. Come to think of it, he had been acting this way ever since he had returned from trying to stop Kira and Hanataro from…

She gasped so loud, it shocked Hitsugaya. "Captain!"

He flinched at her voice. "Y- yes?"

Seeing that he was startled, she got down on one knee so she was at eye level with him and held his hands. "Captain…" she kept her voice calm. "I need you to think for me, ok? Can you do that for me?"

"Uh… Sure."

She nodded. "Ok. I want you to think about what you did yesterday, ok? Do you remember what happened when you went to check up on Kira and Hanataro?"

He hesitated and then nodded. "Uh-huh. I went down there to stop them. Try to talk them out of it."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What happened when you went down there to that room? What was it like?"

He shrugged. "I dunno."

"What were they doing?"

"Well, Kira and Hanataro were sitting in a couple of chairs… And there was a woman. She was blond. She was kinda pretty. Then she told them to sit down."

"Then what?"

"Then… I dunno. I can't really remember."

"What do you remember?"

He thought hard, trying to stir up some memories. "Uh… Well, uh… Um…"

"Think. Please, Captain. Try to remember."

His face scrunched up in concentration. "Uh… Oh, yeah. I was sitting on the floor in the doorway."

"Why were you sitting there?"

"I was hiding there."

"No, I meant were you sitting on the floor the whole time?"

He thought. "Uh… No. I don't think I was. I'm pretty sure I was standing up when I stood in the doorway. I don't remember why I was sitting down or how it happened."

Rangiku could feel her heartbeat quicken. "Did you see anything in the room besides those three? What was she using to hypnotize them? Did you see it?"

Again he thought hard. It took him several minutes before he came up with an answer. "… Yeah… I kinda remember, a little bit… She had some kind of jewel on a chain that was swinging."

"Did you look at it while she was swinging it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I saw it. I thought it was pretty." Then he frowned. "But I don't remember anything after that. I just remember sitting in the hall." He scratched his head. "I felt funny, though… Like someone woke me up from a long dream… But I wasn't asleep, I don't think."

Rangiku's heart skipped a beat. _No, maybe not asleep, but you were in a trance! Oh, Captain… You must've gotten hypnotized, too!_ This explained his sudden personality switch. This was awful! Poor Hitsugaya! He was hypnotized and not even aware of it! Wait a minute… Hanataro! He was the one who brought the woman here in the first place. Maybe he could fix this mess! She grabbed Hitsugaya's hand and pulled him down the hall.

He had to jog to keep up with her fast pace and longer legs as she pulled him down the hall. "Where are we going?"

"To find Hanataro. He must know how to cure you. And if he doesn't, then he knows where that woman is who did this to you guys. We have to hunt her down and reverse this spell you're under."

Hitsugaya didn't understand a word of what she said. It was just as well. If Hitsugaya was in his right state of mind, he'd know that the main reason why she was doing this was because _she_ couldn't stand being the only capable one left to do all the paperwork. She had to get him back to normal so that he could do it in her stead.

~*~*~

After wondering the Soul Society and asking numerous people, they finally arrived at the only place left he could be hiding: his squad 4 dwelling. Since he wasn't a captain or lieutenant, he lived in a much smaller house along with the other members of squad 4. At least he had his own room and didn't have to bunk with anyone. That made knocking on his door very easy. They had the right place.

"Hanataro!" Rangiku banged on his door. "Hanataro, please open up!"

She heard footsteps and stepped back. She stole a quick peek on Hitsugaya over her shoulder before Hanataro arrived. He was still playing in the courtyard, amusing himself with a small toad on the cobblestones. He giggled playfully and hopped alongside it.

The door slid open and Hanataro stepped into view. At least, she hoped it was... He wasn't wearing a shirt or his trademark medical bad over his shoulder and had messy, unruly hair and his usual droopy eyes were now narrowed and focused squarely on her. It was Hanataro… Most of him, anyway. "What do you want?" he barked at her.

So much for the soft-spoken coward she used to know. This alternate version of him was a slob and very rude.

She was too engrossed in Hanataro's appearance to notice that Hitsugaya was hopping with the toad, following it out of the courtyard and into the street.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dun- dun-DUN!

Thanks for reading this far. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

"Uh… Hanataro?"

"That's my name," he drawled lazily, leaning against the doorframe. "What do you want?"

She shook herself from the shook and asked her question. "I need your help. Do you remember that woman who did this to you? The hypnotist? Could you please do me a favor and track her down? I need to find her."

Hanataro scratched his bare chest, making no eye contact with her whatsoever. "Huh? What was that? I wasn't listening."

"Hanataro! I need you to tell me where that woman is!"

"What woman?"

"The hypnotist!"

He cleaned out his ear with his pinky. "Oh, yeah… Her… Yeah, I know where she lives."

"Then could you please tell me how I can get a hold of her fast?"

"Why fast?"

"Because Hitsugaya got hypnotized, too. I need to have him cured."

"He got..? Oh-ho-ho man, that's good! So he's here? What's he doin'?"

"I'm not sure but I think he's acting more his age. He's acting very childish."

Hanataro laughed out loud. "Ha! And you want him changed back because..?"

"It's just best that he's back to normal, ok?! Please, just tell me where that woman is!"

He chewed on his tongue. "Well… I _could_… but I dunno…" He leaned in her face. "What's in it for me?"

She pulled back. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do I get from helping you? I don't do for free, you know."

"But you're a medic! It's your job to help people in need!"

"True, true… And since I'm a medic… I was thinking that I could get to study a little more anatomy, if you know what I mean…" Hanataro winked, clicking his tongue and looking down her kimono. He raised his eyebrows seductively, peering at her chest.

She couldn't take anymore. As he brought his face closer, she backhanded him across the face. She hit him so hard he was sent flying into the next wall. "Oh, snap out of it, Hanataro! I need you to get it together and tell me what I need to know! Now come to your senses."

He sat up rubbing his red face. As he looked up, she couldn't help but notice that his eyes had regained some of their former droopiness and were somewhat wider than before. He seemed to have come back to himself… for now. "I… I'm so sorry, Rangiku. I don't know what came over me. I… It- it must have been the spell. I couldn't help it."

The spell wasn't broken. Just temporarily weakened. She could tell. He still wasn't himself. But at least he was less perverted.

"Hanataro, please tell me where I can find that woman."

He blinked and slowly got to his feet. "I… Uh, sure… But I…" He rubbed his head. "I'm not really sure what you want exactly."

"I want you to track down that hypnotist so I can cure Hitsugaya. I need her to cure him… And you, too, for that matter."

He gave his head a small shake and blinked. "I… Sure… Ok…" He staggered over to the table and started shuffling through some papers. "But… The thing is, Rangiku… What would you like me to do? Do you want me to go down there and tell her that we need her to come back? Or would you rather go down there yourself? Although… I could always send her a letter instead and tell her what's going on."

She thought about it. "Going down there yourself would take too long. A letter would probably be best. I'll write it. Just give me the info."

"A letter? You sure, Big Bosoms?" He gasped and covered his mouth. "Oh! I'm s- so sorry! It- it just slipped out! Ay..! I can't help myself, it seems… I've been trying to hold back all day, but now there's a big, BIG part of me that wants to say all this stuff and makes me do it without holding back. Maybe I'm more suggestible than others… After all, my transformation happened a lot quicker than Kira's…"

Rangiku made a fist. "Don't worry. I'm gonna make sure I get you guys back to normal. Count on it! That's why I need to send that letter as soon as possible. That'll be best. After all, I can't take Hitsugaya out traveling when he's in this state."

Hanataro looked over her shoulder. "Um… By the way… Where is he?"

She gasped and spun around. He was nowhere to be found.

"AAHHH! I can't believe I lost him! There's no telling what kind of trouble he could get himself into! I've gotta find him!" She ran into the streets and began searching for her lost captain.

~*~*~

Hop. Hop. Hop.

Hitsugaya giggled playfully as he hopped alongside the toad, keeping up the pace. This was fun! Why hadn't he ever done this before? Oh, yeah. That's right… Because everyone would make fun of him. If he wasn't so afraid of ridicule, he would have done this years ago! This was so much fun, hopping with a small toad. It hopped away. He followed. This was a blast! It went left, so did Hitsugaya. It darted right. So did he. He was keeping up very well. He chased after the toad, hopping all the way.

Hop. Hop. Hop.

Until finally their little game had to end. The small toad squeezed between the cracks of a wall and disappeared from sight. Hitsugaya squatted down by the wall and waited for it to come back out. When it didn't, he started to poke around in the small opening with his finger to see if that would draw it out again. No such luck. So Hitsugaya sat back and pouted. He was having such fun, too. Why did it have to end so quickly?

Might as well go back and see what Rangiku was doing. As he got up, he realized something very important: he wasn't in the courtyard anymore. He looked around. He had no idea where he was. He was surrounded by tall, white buildings and thick walls. Even worse, he was all alone. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted to be with someone. Anyone.

He sniffled and brought his arms up close to his chest. He was scared. Where was everyone?

"Hel… Hello? A- anyone?" he called in a soft, shaky voice. "Hello?!"

No answer.

He started to tremble. He gave a small squeak and tip-toed down the street. If he were in his right state of mind, he wouldn't be panicking like this. His rational self would think to go back the way he came, or at the very least, jump onto a rooftop and get a bird's eye view of his surroundings. That would make the most sense. However, this Hitsugaya only knew to go by instinct and impulse. And his first reaction to discovering that he was all alone in a strange place was to cry and search for someone. He only had tears at this moment, but in time…

He whined and sniffled going down this long, long road on his own. All alone. He felt like crying and staying put where he was in hopes of someone coming for him. He wanted to be found.

Just then he heard giggling. It sounded like a girl. A young girl, at that. He quickly wiped his tears away and hurried after the sound of her voice. It was getting louder. He must be close. He skidded to a halt as he rounded the corner and nearly bumped into a girl with pink hair.

Yachiru yelped and jumped back. "Oh, hi-! Hey… are you ok?" She leaned into Hitsugaya's face to get a better look. He seemed different somehow.

He sniffled. "I'm lost and I can't find Rangiku!"

She blinked her big eyes at him. Then her smile was back again. "It's ok, Shiro-whiro! I'll take you back!"

He blinked and stared at her. "… Uh… Is that a new nickname?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh! Do you like it? Is it better than the other one I gave you?"

His cheeks turned slightly pink. "Uh, well, actually… If you have to give me a nickname, I wouldn't mind Little Shiro. Ok?"

"Ok!" She linked arms with him. "Now back home! Soul Society away!" She pointed in some random direction and followed her finger. Poor Hitsugaya was dragged along for the ride, but at least now he had someone to accompany him.

~*~*~

"At least we made it… finally." It had taken them much longer than they had expected thanks to her navigation skills… or lack thereof. They had maneuvered through half of the Soul Society before finally getting into the main building.

"Ha! I knew it was this way! See? Sixth time's the charm!" She flexed her small muscles, showing off her skills, as if to impress him.

He just followed her silently. He was feeling much better now that he had someone with him. But he was still feeling a bit shy. He didn't know what to say or do. And this girl was younger than he was. And she was a girl. A girl! What should he say? What should he do? She was so different from him. He hoped he wouldn't say anything stupid to her and make her walk off and leave him. Girls did that when they were mad at you, didn't they? He couldn't let that happen. He wanted to stay with someone and she was the only one around.

She looked around the hall, poking her little head around corners to see what there was to see. "Huh… There's no one here. They must all be working."

Hitsugaya followed close behind her, making sure she didn't leave him. She skipped down the hall and he ran after her, somehow managing to keep up.

"I still don't see anyone!" She put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Ohh..! If only Kenny were here…"

Hitsugaya gulped and asked, "Wh- where is he?" He was still very nervous and shy, but Yachiru didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, he's still in the infirmary. Unohana won't let him leave! He doesn't seem that bad to me. I've seen him worse." She glanced to the right and suddenly shouted, "HEY, UKITAKE!"

Hitsugaya flinched at her voice and clenched the fabric of his kimono in fright. He looked up to see Ukitake walking toward his own office when Yachiru suddenly clamped onto his back, giggling.

"How ya doin', Paley?" she patted his shoulder and laughed in his ear.

Ukitake raised an eyebrow at his nickname. 'Paley'? As in his lack of color? What a strange girl… "I'm doing just fine, thank you," he managed to say while regaining his balance. She was small but she still had some weight to her. Plus, Ukitake wasn't as physically sound as everyone else. He was pretty frail. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Kenp-"

"Kenny's in the infirmary. Unohana won't let him leave."

"Oh? Why's that? Did he get hurt?"

She played with a strand of his hair. "Yup. But it's not that big a deal. Nursey said that she found other wounds on him that he didn't even know about. So he's in there being treated. She's mad, though, 'cause Kenny won't let anyone near him to treat his wounds. He almost put Droopy-eyes through the wall when he tried."

"Oh… So Hanataro tried to treat him, huh? Poor kid."

"So I'm all on my own today while he's resting up!" she chirped.

Hitsugaya kept at a safe distance from them for most of the conversation. Ukitake was so much bigger than he was. He studied his kind face before remembering that he knew this man. It was Ukitake. He liked him. Why did he like him again? He tried to think.

"So do you have any candy?!"

That's why! Ukitake was the candy man. He had boatloads of candy and sweets! Now he remembered. Ukitake's the one who gave him that candy yesterday. Why his mind was so mixed up today was beyond him. Maybe his nervousness had something to do with it. Either way he knew one thing was for sure. Ukitake had candy!

"Candy! Candy! Candy! Candy! Candy! Candy!"

"Uh, well, I…" Ukitake felt a hand on his arm and looked down. Hitsugaya was clinging to him as well, looking up at him with hungry eyes. He smiled and agreed. "Ok. Candy it is. Come on, follow me."

"YAY! Candy!" Just what she needed: more sugar.

Ukitake led them to his office and handed them both a large bag of sweets. "I also shortbread cookies if you…"

No need to finish that statement. All they needed to hear was the word 'cookies' and was it. They snatched the box out of his hands so fast, if you blinked you would have missed. They started munching down on all the sweets they could get their hands on. It was so tasty. They sat in the middle of the office and ate while Ukitake watched them.

He had to admit that he was mildly surprised to see Hitsugaya here with little Yachiru. He was usually the one who wanted to get as far away from her as possible. He was also surprised to see Hitsugaya sitting in the middle of his floor eating all that candy in one sitting. He was going to make himself sick at this rate.

"Um, Hitsugaya?"

"He wants to be called Little Shiro now!" Yachiru said through a mouthful of gumdrops.

"Little Shiro?" He was surprised, but Hitsugaya actually answered to that name.

"Yes?"

"You want to be called Little Shiro now? I thought you hated that. Momo even said you did."

He shoved a handful of gummy bears into his mouth. "It's ok. I don't mind."

"Really?'

"Really."

Ukitake raised a brow again. Why did he get the feeling that something was wrong?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Rangiku searched the Soul Society for her captain but had no luck. That is until she passed Ukitake's office. She peered inside and found her captain along with Yachiru eating candy together on the floor of the office. Hitsugaya jumped to his feet the second he saw her.

"Rangiku! Rangiku, you're here!" He leapt into her arms and greeted her with a big hug.

She looked up and met eyes with a very confused Ukitake.

"Should I ask?" he questioned.

She bit her lip. "It's best that you don't."

"Ok, then."

Rangiku patted Hitsugaya's head. "Come on. We should go."

"But…" He glanced back at Yachiru. "What about her? Can't we play for a little longer?"

"Play?"

The pink-haired Soul Reaper jumped to her feet. "Yup! I got all sorts of toys in my room!"

Hitsugaya's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Uh-huh! Follow me!" She bolted out the door and Hitsugaya followed after her.

Rangiku groaned. "And I just found him, too! Now he's off again and I have to find him!"

Ukitake tapped his finger on his desk. "The candy might have had something to do with it."

"You think?"

"Sorry… But they really wanted some."

She groaned again. "Thanks a lot…"

~*~*~

By the time she found them, it was too late. They were already engrossed in a game and weren't about to end it anytime soon. Hitsugaya jumped out of nowhere and jabbed her in the gut with a plastic sword.

Yachiru, wearing a newspaper sailor hat, wagged her finger at Rangiku. "You're supposed to be dead. He got you."

Hitsugaya jabbed her again even harder. "Bam! Bam! Bam!"

She grabbed the end of the plastic sword and held it at bay.

"No fair! You can't do that!"

"It's time to go, Captain."

Hitsugaya gave her the puppy eyes. "Aw… Really? So soon? But why?"

"We have work to do."

Hitsugaya frowned. "But I don't wanna. I wanna play here with Yachiru."

Rangiku knelt down in front of him. "Listen, I can't have you running all over the Soul Society, ok? You could get lost or hurt."

"But I can navigate!" Yachiru chirped. "I can help him find his way!"

Both of them sweat-dropped.

"I really need you to stay where I can keep an eye on you, ok?"

Hitsugaya pouted and dropped his toy sword on the ground. "Ok…" He kicked the ground with his feet and waved good-bye to his playmate. "Bye-bye, Yachiru."

She waved back, still smiling. "Bye!"

Rangiku led Hitsugaya back to the office and told him to stay put on the couch for five minutes while she wrote a letter. So he sat on the couch and didn't move… For 30 seconds. Then he started to swing his legs and tap his fingertips together.

Rangiku sat at her desk and started to get to work. She pulled out the woman's address and a clean piece of paper. First, the letter. How should she start this? She didn't even know the woman's name. 'Dear Hypnotist'? That could work. She started to write.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

She glanced up. Hitsugaya was making popping noises with his mouth. "Captain, could you please stop?"

He looked over the back of the couch and nodded.

She smiled and went back to work. She lifted the pen and…

Pop.

Rangiku looked up. Hitsugaya was still sitting on the couch, staring at her innocently. She locked eyes with him. Then she looked back down at the paper in front of her.

Pop.

She looked back up. Hitsugaya was now looking up at the ceiling with an innocent expression. She frowned and looked back down.

Pop.

She slammed the pen down. "Captain!"

He gave her the innocent eyes again. "What?"

"I know you're doing that, so please stop it."

"Doing what?"

She sighed and went back to work.

Pop.

She looked up just in time to see his head duck down behind the couch. "Captain?"

"Teehee..!"

She sighed and started writing again.

Pop.

"Captain!"

She heard him giggle again. What a mischievous child.

Pop.

This time she ignored him and continued writing.

Pop.

He got no answer. Hitsugaya peered around the couch at her. She was writing, keeping her eyes down. He frowned. This wasn't fun. She was ignoring him now. He crawled off the couch and across the floor. He was up to something...

Rangiku thought about what she was going to write next. Perhaps it would be a good idea to tell the woman what the trio was acting like. Explain how they had changed. They were all freaks in her opinion. Well, Hitsugaya was cute, but he was still…

She looked down. A stuffed animal had been placed on the desk next to her arm. She looked around. There was no one there. She felt soft fur on her left hand. She looked to find another stuffed animal sitting on the left corner of her desk. She decided to ignore that as well. She had to get back to work. She picked up her pen and… found another stuffed animal on top of her letter.

"Captain..!" she growled. She heard giggling coming from the other side of her desk. So she got up and walked around to the front of her desk and expected to find her captain. Instead she found nothing. She got down on her knees and crawled to the other side of her desk as if to surprise him. He wasn't there either. That was strange. She straightened up and turned back to her desk. As she did, she noticed that her desk was now covered with stuffed animals of all colors, shapes and sizes. "Captain!"

Again she heard his giggles. She got down on all fours and saw him squatting under her desk, hiding. He was good. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and crawled under after him.

"Captain, please. I'm trying to work. Could you maybe..?"

"But I'm being quiet," he argued.

True. He did all this without making a sound, except for his giggles. But still, how was she supposed to work if her desk was covered up? "By the way, where did you get those toys from?"

Hitsugaya smiled and rocked back, holding his knees. "I borrowed them from Yachiru. How come no one else has toys around here?"

Rangiku sighed. "Could you please just sit down and keep quiet for a few minutes?"

"How many?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"I don't know."

"How come?"

"How come what?"

"How come you don't know?"

"I don't know!"

"Why?"

"Because I don't."

"Why?"

"Please stop."

"Stop what?'

"Asking me this stuff."

"Why?'

"Because it's distracting."

"Why?"

"Because it is."

"Why?"

"Because I can't concentrate."

"Why?'

"Because I can't think!"

"Why?'

"Because you're doing this!"

"Why?"

"How should I know? You're the one doing it!"

"Hehehee! Why?" he giggled.

She let out a frustrated groan and shook her head. This was going to be a _long_ day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

How is it so far? Tell me what you think and I'll be sure to put in more cute stuff! ^-^

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

It took her quite some time to get Hitsugaya to calm down. Rangiku hoped that that was the end of his rampage. She gave him some blank pieces of paper and some pens for him to draw with. He was shy but once he got warmed up there was no stopping him.

At last she finished her letter and sealed it up. "Yes! It took me an hour more than I had hoped, but it's finally done!" She breathed a sigh of relief and got up to send the letter out. But wait! She couldn't leave Hitsugaya all alone. And she couldn't tear him away from his drawing now that he had finally settled down. Perhaps she should wait until later to do it.

She looked over at the pile of paperwork waiting for Hitsugaya. But he wasn't likely to be doing it anytime soon. Not in this metal state.

Ten minutes passed when she felt something tugging on her kimono. She looked down. Hitsugaya was rubbing his eyes and stared at her sleepily. "What's the matter?"

"'M sleepy…" he yawned. "I wanna take a nap… Please?"

She smiled. He was so cute. "Alright. Go ahead."

He pulled on her arm and managed to get her on her feet. He dragged her over towards the couch and pushed her onto the cushions.

"What's this about?" she asked him.

Without a word, he climbed up into her lap and laid down. He rested his head on her lap and drew her arm around his body.

"Uh, Captain..?"

He held up something in his hands. It was a piece of paper with a drawing on it. "I made this for you…" he mumbled sleepily.

"Uh… thank you..?" She took the drawing from him and set it down next to her on the couch.

"Aren't'cha gonna look at it?" he asked, eyelids fluttering.

She held up the drawing and got a good look at it. It was a stick figure drawing of two people and a smiley-faced sun shining down on them. One of the stick figures was short with white spiky hair. The other was a tall woman with a large chest and long wavy hair and a mole on her lower cheek. They were holding hands and smiling.

"Do you like it?" she heard him say softly.

She smiled and stroked his back tenderly. "It's beautiful, Captain." That was the truth. It was a very nice drawing. She really liked it. It showed her just how much she meant to her captain. He really cared about her.

He smiled back and snuggled into her warm lap. "Thanks… 'M glade…"

She sat with him until he fell asleep, curled up on her lap. She hated to move him, but she had to send that letter as soon as possible. After a few more minutes, she gently lifted his limp body up and wormed her way out from underneath him. She set him back down gently and tiptoed out of the office with the letter in hand.

As she made her way down the hall, she heard something coming from the next corridor. She made a detour to check it out. There was a group of Soul Reapers all huddled around in a semicircle. Rangiku pushed her way through and saw something that made her want to scream out loud.

There were three Soul Reapers. One of them was Kira. The other was Ikkaku, who seemed to be cheering him on. Kira was screaming in a captain's face challenging him to a fight. The captain was none other than… Byakuya.

"Just what are you babbling about?" Byakuya asked coldly. He was not impressed by Kira's supposed tough-guy act.

Kira got on his toes and literally shouted in the captain's face. "I told ya! I challenge you to a fight! Unless you're chicken!"

"You tell him, Kira!" Ikkaku cheered. "Way to go!"

Kira then started to shove Byakuya into the wall to rile him up and get some sort of fight out of him. "Come on, tough guy, come on!" he jeered. "What'cha got? What'cha got?"

Rangiku's jaw dropped. He was just digging his own grave! Kira was so dead!

"Come on, bring it on!" Kira began to box the air around Byakuya's face as he taunted him. "What'cha got, tough guy? What'cha got? Bring it on, man! Bring it on!"

Byakuya's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Kira was wearing on his last nerve. Kira pushed him again and taunted him. Byakuya reached for his blade.

"Kira!" Rangiku pushed passed the other Soul Reapers and grabbed Kira's earlobe and twisted.

"OW! Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-OW! What- OW- Are you- OW- Doing- OW- Rangiku?! OW!"

She twisted his ear and dragged him away from the furious captain. "So sorry, Captain! Sorry about him! Sorry!" She pulled Kira through the crowd. "What are you all looking at? The show's over! Get outta my way! Move it!"

The crowd parted like the Red Sea and allowed her to pass. When Rangiku was mad, which wasn't very often, she was _mad_. There was no telling what she'd do to them if they got in her way. It was best if they all became silent wallflowers.

Rangiku dragged Kira by the ear all the way down the hall and out of sight around the corner.

Ikkaku whined. "Aw, man! And just when it was getting good!"

Byakuya lowered his hand from his sword and stared off in their direction, wondering what on earth had gotten into that crazy Kira. _Drunk, I assume_…

Rangiku threw Kira up against the wall and pined his shoulder to it, releasing his ear. "What in the world were you thinking?! What possessed you to challenge someone like Byakuya like that?!"

"I was thinking that he was a big _chicken_!"

"So you tried to fight him?! Are you nuts?!"

Kira gave her a death-glare. "It's none of your concern who I fight and why!"

"It's bad enough that you were fighting Ikkaku, but Captain Byakuya?! Have you lost your mind?! He'd kill you!"

Kira scoffed. "We'll just see about that..!"

Something was terribly wrong. Kira was far too cocky for his own good. "What's gotten into you, Kira? What's this all about?"

He looked her in the eye and smirked. "I just had this awesome feeling that I needed to fight something! I already beat Ikkaku…"

"Wait… You beat him?!"

He shrugged. "Well… Not exactly… But close enough. We called it a draw because it was only a little spar. But nonetheless, I really, _really_ wanna fight someone strong! I just had this overpowering urge to rip something apart, ya know?"

This definitely wasn't Kira. This was a nightmare. She had to fix him before something terrible happened.

"Hey, you don't suppose I could take on Hitsugaya, do you? That'll be a blast!"

She shook her head and refused that offer. "No way! You can't fight him! And not now, of all times…"

Kira groaned. "Yeah, you might be right… He's probably up to his neck in paperwork anyway…"

"Yeah, but it's not like he's gonna do it anytime soon…"

Kira looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

Rangiku looked over her shoulders to make sure that they were completely alone and whispered to him. "Ok, the truth is… When you and Hanataro got hypnotized, so did Hitsugaya."

"He what?"

"Yeah. Now he's all quiet and shy, but when he opens up, he's all hyper and playful. He won't go anywhere near the paperwork."

Kira smirked. "So you want to find a way to change him back so you won't have to do it?"

She frowned. "No! I want to change him back because it's the right thing to do."

"And you don't want to do paperwork."

"That's beside the point!"

Kira glanced over her shoulder. "So where is he now?"

"Taking a nap in the office." She held up the letter. "That's why I'm taking my chance to deliver this now."

"What is that?"

"This is a letter I'm sending to that hypnotist woman. I'm asking her to come back so she can cure you guys."

"You guys? What do you mean 'you guys'?"

"Hitsugaya, Hanataro and you, of course. Hanataro's a rude, pervy slob! I can't have him spend the rest of his life like that! You already know what's wrong with Hitsugaya… And you..! You can't stay like this your whole life!"

"Why not?"

"Because you'll end up killing yourself! And this is still a mild stage… Who knows how much worse you can get? I have to send this letter to her so she can change you back."

In the blink of an eye, Kira's hand reached up and snatched the letter out of her hand. He ripped it in half right in front of her.

"What are you doing?!"

Kira began to shred the letter into a million pieces. "I don't want to change back!" He threw the torn up pieces of paper in her face.

"What?!"

"I like myself! I like how I am now! I don't want to go back to being that wimpy, indecisive Kira! I'm better now! I'm great friends with Ikkaku, I get praised for my work… I'm better this way! I don't want to be changed back! There's nothing to fix! I'm fine! Better than ever!"

"But you could end up dead if you don't know when or where to stop! You can't-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Kira shoved her aside and stormed away. "I told you, I'm fine! I don't want to change back! So just leave it alone! Leave _me_ alone!"

She watched him, dumbstruck, as he stormed down the hall and out of sight. This wasn't good.

~*~*~

She went back to the office to write another letter now that Kira had torn up the original. She opened the door and slipped inside. Hitsugaya was still fast asleep on the couch, completely undisturbed. She tiptoed passed him and over to her desk. She pulled out another sheet of paper and the address.

"Let's try this a second time…" she murmured to herself and got ready to work.

"_I don't want to change back!"_

Rangiku stopped, remembering Kira's words.

"_I don't want to change back!"_

His voice was echoing in her mind and she couldn't shake it off. She couldn't get his voice out of her head.

"_I like myself! I like how I am now! I don't want to go back to being that wimpy, indecisive Kira! I'm better now!"_

Did he really mean that? Was that really him talking and not just his alternate self? He liked being that way, the way he is now? He enjoyed it? Hearing his voice made it impossible to concentrate.

"_I like myself! I like how I am now! I don't want to go back to being that wimpy, indecisive Kira! I'm better now!"_

"_I'm better this way! I don't want to be changed back! There's nothing to fix! I'm fine! Better than ever!"_

Rangiku banged her head on the desk. What was she supposed to do? Kira didn't want to go back to the way he was, but it was in his best interest. He couldn't go on the way he was now. Things would only get worse! And Hanataro… What if he mouthed off to the wrong person? Unohana had no idea about the hypnosis. What would she do if he started to mouth off to her or worse? Rangiku drew her arms over her head and moaned. She just couldn't win. She knew what the right thing to do was, but they didn't want to be cured. Kira was a definite, but Hanataro she still wasn't sure about. But judging from the way he was acting, it was a pretty safe bet that he'd side with Kira on this one.

She heard a small noise like shuffling feet moving towards her. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw a sleepy looking Hitsugaya staring back at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked innocently. "Are you sad?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine, Captain."

"You sure?" he asked softly. "You don't look fine. You look upset. What's the matter?"

Nothing got passed him. Maybe being more childish gave him a more innocent perspective of the world around him. He was more sensitive to other's emotions.

She smiled at him and put her hand atop his. "It's nothing, Captain. I'm sorry I woke you."

Without warning, he started to climb into her lap and sat down. He threw his arms over her shoulders and gave her a hug. "I know you're upset. I can tell. What's wrong? Was it something I did?"

She blinked. He was blaming himself? She turned him around so that she was looking at his face. "No, no… Of course not. You didn't do anything." She patted his head. "I'm just worried abut a friend, that's all."

Hitsugaya rubbed his eyes, still pretty drowsy. "Is he being bad?"

"A little. But it's not all his fault."

Hitsugaya yawned and rested his head on her shoulder, making himself more comfortable. "Then don't be mad at him. Maybe he doesn't know he's being bad."

She stroked his back. "But I don't know whether I should try to help him even if he doesn't want it because it's the right thing to do, or let him do what he wants and let himself learn the hard way and let him get into trouble. I know deep down he doesn't want to do all this, but he also says that he doesn't want to go back to being the old him because he hated himself. Maybe he was just saying that or maybe he really does mean it…"

He snuggled up to her and closed his eyes. "If he was a better friend before, then I think he should go back… Even if he thinks he likes it this way, if he's just getting into trouble all the time and hurting people's feelings, then I think he should go back to the way he was. It's better that way. And even if he didn't like himself before, if he sees how much other people liked him before he changed, maybe he'll realize that it's better this way…"

Rangiku smiled. Even in this state her captain was still a genius. He knew what was going on. His childish perspective must have allowed him to see the world in a more straightforward manner than usual. He knew what he was saying. She gave him a small hug in gratitude. "Thanks, Captain. You're right."

He nuzzled his cold nose into her warm neck and sighed, falling asleep again in her lap.

She stroked his head and picked up her pen. This was in their best interest. Kira, Hanataro and Hitsugaya all had to change back to their normal selves. It was best if they all did. She knew she was doing the right thing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

OMG Kira's nuts! 8O Hitsugaya's cute as can be! XD

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

It was dinnertime and Rangiku, for one, was hungry. So was Hitsugaya, actually. He didn't want to eat anymore candy, either. He wanted real food.

After his nap, Hitsugaya was feeling refreshed and hungry. He watched Rangiku as she folded up the later she had been writing and tucked it away in her kimono. She stood up and stretched and cracking her stiff neck. He watched her shyly from his spot near the couch, wondering what she was going to do next.

She rubbed her empty stomach and huffed. "Boy, am I hungry! Time for dinner, I think."

Hitsugaya's stomach growled loudly. He gasped and quickly covered his stomach to muffle the sound. His cheeks turned pink.

Rangiku smiled at him. "You're hungry, aren't you?"

He looked away shyly, biting his lip.

She chuckled and smiled at him. "Would you like some dinner?"

He gulped and nodded.

He was still very shy now that he had calmed down. There was no way she could take him into the kitchen to get dinner and not have someone suspect something. She had to keep him uncover. No one must find out. On top of that, she also had to send that letter as well. How was she going to work this? Perhaps she could simply take care of the letter first and fetch Hitsugaya some dinner after. That would save her a trip instead of getting him dinner then going back to send the letter.

"Captain?" He flinched slightly watching her with big aqua eyes. "Sit down right here on the couch. I'll get you something to eat and bring it to you. Ok? Sound good?"

He gave her a small nod and slowly went over to the couch and sat down. She smiled and left the room. Five seconds passed when Hitsugaya gave a small whine. He didn't want to be alone. He whined again, a little louder this time. He called her name.

"Ran… Rangiku..? Rangiku?!"

He heard her footsteps and saw her in the doorway. "What is it?"

He sniffled and whined again.

"What?"

"Don't leave… Don't leave me all alone. Please?"

She sighed. She had to distract him so she could go. Spotting a stuffed animal on the floor, she picked it up and held it out for him to take. "Here. Why don't you play with this?"

He blinked and stared at it. He didn't seem very interested. That is, until she made it dance. Then he reached out for it with a soft giggle. She patted his head and left for the second time.

He was content… for about two minutes. Then he looked up and noticed that she was gone. He called out for her again, but this time no one came. He whimpered and wondered when she'd be back. He looked around the room.

This room was still very boring, even with the few toys Yachiru lent him. He kicked his legs. Then he slid off the couch to wonder around for a bit. He went over to his desk first. Too many papers with too many small words printed on them. That was super boring!

Next he went over to the bookcase. He looked around the room to see if anyone was watching him. The cost was clear. He ran his fingertips over the spines of the books, making a rhythmic thumbing noise. He liked the vibrating feeling he got in his fingers by doing so. This was kind of fun. Next, his fingers grasped the spine of a book and he pulled it out of its spot on the shelf. He cracked it open. But there were no pictures in it. How boring! He dropped that book on the ground with a dull thud and pulled out another one. A dark green one, this time. This one was also boring. He dropped that one on the ground as well. He then went to a different shelf and found another book that looked interesting. A dark blue colored one. He tried to pull it out, but had some difficulty. This one was jammed in good and tight. He grabbed it with both hands and tried to force it free.

The result? He managed to pull it out, along with about twelve other books which came crashing down to the floor around his feet. He jumped, gripping the book in his hands tightly. _Oops_…

"Captain Hitsugaya."

He yelped in surprise and bolted. Tripping over the fallen books around him, he dove behind the couch. "I'm sorry!"

"Eh?"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Easy, easy, sir… What's the matter with you?"

That didn't sound like Rangiku's voice. It was a stranger's. Hitsugaya gulped and hid himself from view.

"Captain? Are you alright? Come on. It's not like I'm gonna hurt you or anything. I just had something for you, is all."

That spiked his curiosity. He slowly peered out from around the couch, making sure that only the left side of his face was visible. Hisagi was standing a few feet from the door staring in his direction. He looked a little confused by Hitsugaya's actions.

He held up a tan file. "I was sent to deliver this to you."

Hitsugaya didn't take it. He just hid behind the couch.

"I'll just put it here for you." Hisagi placed it down on the bookshelf. "Are you feeling ok?"

The young captain gulped and looked towards the empty shelf. "I did something bad…"

"Oh?"

He gave Hisagi guilty big puppy eyes. "I knocked down the books and made a mess," he admitted.

Hisagi looked at the shelf and then down at the books on the floor. "Oh, that's not so bad. It's not like you broke anything." He bent down and started cleaning up the fallen books. "See? Easily fixed."

Hitsugaya watched him silently. Relief set in once he was certain that this man wasn't angry with him. That was a huge relief.

Hisagi placed all the books back on the shelf as if nothing happened. The problem was solved. He looked up and saw Hitsugaya still crouched behind the couch. "Oh, by the way…"

Hitsugaya flinched and hid himself from view.

"You wouldn't have happened to see Kira around lately have you?"

He poked his head out from behind the couch. "K… Kira?"

"Yeah, I can't seem to find him anywhere. I haven't heard from him either in a while…" He groaned and scratched the back of his head. "Man..! And I had some work for him to do as well… He was supposed to drop by my office to do something for me. Oh, well… I'm sure he's alright. I'm not too worried about him."

"You're not?"

"Nah, he thinks he's weak but he's actually pretty strong. He just lacks confidence… That's all. He's a lot stronger than he thinks."

Hitsugaya slowly lifted his head, coming out of his shell. "He's a best friend to you, isn't he?"

"Well, he is a good friend, yeah. I don't know about _best_ friend, though…" He turned his head in Hitsugaya's direction and the little captain went back to cowering. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you… Have you-?"

"Outside! Outside!"

"He's at it again?!"

"Yup! He's right down there! See 'im?"

"That?"

"Yeah!"

"Outta my way! Where is he? What's he doing now?"

"Has he lots his mind or something? First Byakuya now this?!"

Hisagi spun around and looked out the door just as a large group of Soul Reapers came running by. "What the hell is going on now?"

Hitsugaya ducked behind the couch, hiding from the loud Soul Reapers running passed the office. He lifted his head so that only his forehead and eyes were visible to see what Hisagi was doing. He was looking back at him. He ducked down again.

"Sorry, sir. But I should really see what's going on. We'll talk later, ok?" He ran out of the room calling out to the other Soul Reapers. "Hey, what's going on?!"

Hitsugaya breathed a sigh of relief when Hisagi left. He wanted Rangiku to come back. He wasn't so shy around her for some reason. His stomach growled. Blushing slightly, he covered up his belly to muffle the noise. Where was she with the food? He was getting really hungry now.

Until she arrived with the meal, he decided to explore around the office. He spotted the tan file on the shelf and picked it up. Opening it carefully, he slowly pulled out the papers inside. How boring. The papers were covered with a million tiny letters and numbers. Too many words! He tossed the file and all its papers over his shoulder and onto the large stack of other files and papers on his desk.

He heard the door open again and instinctively ran and hid behind his desk. Only the top of his white, spiky head of hair was showing as he coward.

"It's me, Captain. I'm back."

He looked. It was Rangiku carrying an armful of food. She carefully set two plates down on the coffee table.

"Sorry I took so long."

The delicious smell drew him out of his hiding place. He slowly crawled over to the table and looked at what she had brought him.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted or what you liked, so I brought you all this. I hope it's ok."

The plate set closest to him was filled with sweet and sour chicken, carrots, broccoli and fried rice. It looked as delicious as it smelled.

She held up a third plate, but this one was much smaller. "I also brought you this. Now I _know_ you like this."

She set down a small plate of freshly sliced seedless watermelon. His eyes sparkled and his stomach growled again. He let out a small gasp, looking at the yummy looking food. He brought his face closer to it and stopped. He gulped and gave her a wary look. Was he asking for permission to eat it?

"It's ok. Go ahead."

When he didn't move, she grew concerned. Was he really that shy about eating? He just kept staring at her, as if waiting for something to happen.

"It's ok. See?" She picked up a slice of watermelon and took a bite. "Mmm! See? It's really good. Go ahead and eat some."

His mouth watered but he still didn't take any.

"What's wrong?"

He hung his head shamefully. "I… I did something bad…" he mumbled softly.

"Oh?"

He nodded sadly. "I made a mess with the books… I knocked them down on the floor…"

She looked in the direction of the bookcase. "I don't see anything. What mess?"

"Hisagi came in and picked it up for me…" he admitted quietly.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Hisagi was in here? Did he talk to you?"

He nodded. "He wanted to know where Kira was. I told him I didn't know and he left."

"That's it?"

"And he picked up the books for me."

She was relieved that it didn't sound like Hisagi had suspected that anything was wrong with her captain. "That's ok."

Hitsugaya shook his head. "No, it's not. I did a bad thing! I made a mess and Hisagi cleaned it up for me. I was bad..!"

Rangiku had never seen him like this before. He was so sensitive. "But Captain…"

"I shouldn't have dinner. I was bad…"

She sighed. He must be super sensitive to be punishing himself with no dinner like this. But she couldn't let him just starve, now could she?

"Captain, let me ask you this…"

"Ok..?"

"Did you ask Hisagi to pick up the books?"

"Well… no..."

"And when you pulled them out on the floor and made a mess, did you do it on purpose?"

"No…"

"So it was an accident, right?"

"No..! Well, yes… Maybe…" He tried to think. "I was trying to pull out one book, it got stuck and when I pulled hard, all of them came spilling out, like pwoosh!" He held up his hands imitating a huge tidal wave.

"But you didn't mean to do that, now did you?"

"No."

"Then it was an accident."

"But-"

"And you didn't tell Hisagi to pick them up, either. He did that on his own, didn't he? Don't you see? You weren't bad. You just made a mistake, that's all. There's nothing to punish you for. And you told me about it, anyway. There's nothing to be upset about." She reached across the table and patted his head.

He smiled at her. "Really? You're not mad?"

"Of course not. But I will be if you don't eat." She winked at him.

He grinned and agreed to eat. He picked up a big slice of watermelon and took a big bite. Once he finished that off, he decided to eat his actual dinner before it got too cold. He picked up his chopsticks and jabbed them into a piece of chicken. He blow off the steam to cool it down a little more and popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. Hitsugaya's big aqua eyes sparkled and he quickly stuffed another piece into his mouth and eat it at lightning speed.

Rangiku chuckled. "Good, huh?"

"Mm-hmm! Iff's reffy guuf!" he said through a mouthful of food, nodding his head. He crammed more food into his mouth at top speed.

"Slow down, Captain. I don't want you to choke."

"Swry."

She sat back and smiled, picking up her own plate and chopsticks. _He's so cute… _

~*~*~

Overall, it was mission complete. She had sent out the letter that evening to the hypnotist and should got word back soon from her if she got it. Now the only real issue was getting Hitsugaya to sleep in his own bed tonight. And it wasn't an issue, it was a battle. He absolutely refused to sleep alone in his room. He really wanted someone with him. Rangiku tried her best to make him feel safe and comfortable. She tucked him into bed and surrounded him with all sorts of stuffed animal, which had been lent to him by Yachiru.

"There," she huffed, drawing the covers up to his chin. "Better?"

Hitsugaya pulled the covers over his mouth and nodded. "Mm-hmm…"

"Good. Good-night, Captain." She turned to leave.

"Wait!" Hitsugaya suddenly sprang up in bed and reached out for her. "Don't leave me all alone!"

"Captain, you're fine."

"Please," he sniffled. "I don't wanna be alone. Please, stay! Please?"

She sighed. "But where am I supposed to sleep?"

He patted the spot next to him. "With me. It's ok. There's lots of room. You can sleep with me in my bed."

Rangiku sweat-dropped. Did he really not understand that the term 'sleep with me' could be taken in a slight sexual manner? Perhaps he didn't understand. Or was it that he simply didn't realize that fact because he wasn't thinking about it in that way? Anything was possible. Either way, she didn't feel comfortable about sharing a bed with her captain. Cuddling him, yes. But sharing the same bed after he says 'sleep with me', not so much. She wasn't too fond of him kicking her in his sleep either.

"Uh, Captain… I don't really feel right about… What I mean is… I'd rather sleep in my own bed tonight, ok?"

He looked disappointed. "Oh… But I don't have any other beds for you. I have a couch, though."

She looked around his bedroom. The closest thing he had to a couch was an armchair by a small round coffee table near the wall. "I don't see a couch."

"In the living room."

"Ok, I guess I'll sleep out there."

"No! Wait! In here! Sleep in here!"

She never knew he could look so frightened before. That expression of his yanked on her heartstrings. "But I can't bring the couch in here. It's far too big and a lot of work. Isn't there anything else?"

Hitsugaya thought. "I do have a spare futon in the closet over there. You can use that."

She went over to the closet and opened the door. Sure enough, there was a good sized futon waiting for her on the middle shelf. She pulled it out and set it on the ground near his bed. She made sure that she was in a position where Hitsugaya could see her from his bed just in case he got scared during the night.

He sucked on his lip as he watched her. "Could you come a little closer?"

"But you can see me fine from here."

He pouted. "But I want you over here!" he whined.

That was it! It was time to bargain. "Here's the deal, Captain. I'll stay in your room on the condition that I sleep right here. Ok? If you don't agree to that, then I'm going home to sleep in my own bed alone. And don't think that that'll change if you come knocking at my door after midnight again. If you do, I'll just leave you out there. Got it?"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock. Did she mean that? It sure sounded like she did. And there was a lot of seriousness in her eyes. He grabbed the closest stuffed animal, a green lizard, hugged it and laid back down, hiding under the covers and watching her with sad eyes.

Keeping up the tough act, Rangiku simply nodded her head and told him that he made the right choice. She knew if she got tough, he'd listen. She just hated how mean she must have sounded to him. So she went over and patted his head. "Good-night Captain. Sweet dreams."

He smiled back at her and wished her a good-night as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aww! The cuteness never stops! XD At least I hope not.

Let's see where this goes.

Please review! I love 'em!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

It was much easier to get Hitsugaya out of bed the next morning. He seemed very refreshed and well rested. He even walked to the office all by himself that morning with Rangiku at his side. The only downside to all this was the fact that he was still very shy around other people. Hopefully things would go her way for once today. That's all she needed. A break from worrying about her captain. She wanted to enjoy this, but so far all she was doing was taking care of him and trying to hide his 'condition' from other people. True, this whole hypnotism thing was an accident, but she had learned a long time ago that if Hitsugaya was upset in any way, everyone around him would suffer as well. If he was teased for his hypno-induced behavior, there was no doubt in her mind that everyone, especially her would suffer. Misery loves company, after all.

Once they arrived at the office, they were greeted by the biggest stack of paperwork they had ever seen. Hitsugaya's desk was completely covered with thick stacks of papers and files. There was absolutely no more room on his desk of anymore. But that didn't stop the papers from coming in. The space around his desk was taken up as well. Three tall stacks were surrounding the side of his desk and four other stacks had found their way to the front of his desk as well.

Her jaw dropped. There must have been 20 separate stacks of paperwork all over and around his desk. That would take a lifetime to fill out! She turned to her captain. "Captain, are you sure you don't want to fill out _any_ of this today?"

He pouted and shook his head, causing his spiky white hair to flap against the sides of his head. "No! I hate doing that! It's so boring!"

"But, sir, it won't stop. It'll keep piling up. Soon we won't even be able to open the door, there'll be so much! Please? Let's just try to make a dent in it."

He stomped his foot on the ground. "I don't wanna!"

Maybe this was why he was such a workaholic. If he didn't keep up with the paperwork, it would be unbearable. The piles got so high over the course of just two days! At this rate, he'll never be able to catch up on it. Something had to be done soon.

"Please?"

Hitsugaya turned the other way. There was no way she could make him.

She groaned and pulled him inside. The first thing she did was check her desk for messages. She had to find out if that hypnotist wrote back to her yet. No such luck. What a pain…

"Shiro! Shiro! Shiro! Shiro! SHIRO!" Yachiru came bouncing into the office and hung from the doorframe like a monkey. "Wanna play?!"

Hitsugaya's eyes sparkled. Now _that _sounded like fun! He'd much rather do that than paperwork any day. "Sure!" he chirped and made a break for the door.

Rangiku jumped up. "But, Captain..! The paper-"

"Later, Rangiku!" Hitsugaya ran out the door with Yachiru and together they ran all the way back to her office.

Rangiku slumped in defeat. There was no way she'd get him to do any work now. She looked back at the paper-covered desk. It was painful just to look at it. She looked from the door, to the desk, back to the door, out the window, to the desk and then down at the floor. She moaned. She _really_, didn't want to do this. She gulped and took a deep breath. She walked over to Hitsugaya's desk and sat down.

_Just this once… Just this once..! _she told herself. _Just this once!_

She pushed some of the papers aside and picked up a pen.

_I really, __**really **__don't want to do this… But_… She reluctantly picked up the first piece of paper she saw and started filling it out. Hitsugaya owed her big time for making her do this. For once in her life, she was actually doing _his_ paperwork.

An hour passed and it hardly looked like she had even started. She had barely made a dent in the large stack. But she knew someone had to do it. That's what willed her. The fact that Hitsugaya would never touch it in his new state and the knowledge that if she let it go for too long, they'd never be able to get the door open come this time in two days. Plus, she had no idea when that hypnotist would get her letter and arrive to reverse the spell he was under. For all she knew, it could take weeks! She had no way of knowing. And until that happened, she had no choice but to take over the work in Hitsugaya's stead.

Another hour passed and she was starting to whip through it as fast as she could to get it done. This was torture for her!

That's when she heard murmuring from the door. She glanced up. Four Soul Reapers were huddled in the doorway whispering amongst themselves.

"What?" she asked.

Two of them gasped. "So it's not an illusion?!"

"What?!" she asked again.

One Soul Reaper leaned over to the other and whispered loudly, "So it's finally happened… Hell has finally frozen over..!"

She slammed the pen down on the desk. "Would you get out of here!"

"Lieutenant, why are you doing paperwork at Captain Hitsugaya's desk?"

"Because I feel like it, ok?! Now get lost!" She blinked in surprise, realizing how mean she just sounded. Was this why Hitsugaya was always in such a bad mood all the time? Because he had to do all this paperwork night and day? Somehow that didn't surprise her in the least…

As if they weren't enough to worry about, Isane suddenly came walking down the hall as well. She stopped dead in her tracks as she passed the office. The moment she saw Rangiku doing paperwork, she screamed and backed up into the wall behind her.

"I know," said one Soul Reapers. "It's quite a shock isn't it?"

Rangiku drummed her fingers on a stack by her hand. "Can we please just leave it alone and let me get back to work?"

Isane shrieked again.

As Rangiku was about to stand up and chase them away, she heard a commotion from down the hall. _What now? _

The other Soul Reapers jumped aside just as two other Soul Reapers came rushing passed. Or… rather _limping_ passed. Hisagi was hurrying down the hall as fast as he could, dragging behind him a desperate Kira who had attached himself to his leg and refused to let go.

"Damn it, Kira! Get off me!"

"Fight me, Hisagi! You know you want to! Please!"

"Get off!"

"Fight me!"

"Go away!"

"Draw your sword!"

"Don't tempt me!"

"Fight me, for the love of God!"

"No!"

"Be a man!"

"Never! Wait…"

"Fight me!"

"I said 'no' and I mean it!"

"Please!"

"Get away from me!"

Hisagi dragged Kira down the hall and around the corner, unable to shake him off of his right leg. Kira just sank his nails deeper into his leg and refused to detach himself until he agreed to a fight.

Isane stared after them in disbelief. "Is it just me or is that Kira guy getting weirder and weirder by the day?"

~*~*~

It took her most of the day and all of her lunch time to get halfway through the piles on Hitsugaya's desk. Now she just had to take care of the other half and the ones surrounding his desk. Too bad Hitsugaya wasn't the one doing this. He had loads of practice filling these things out. There was no doubt in her mind that he could beat her record in half the time. She looked at the clock. It was getting late. Maybe she should go and find Hitsugaya and make sure that he had lunch at least. She also had to make sure he was ok. She knew that Yachiru didn't suspect a thing so far. Good thing she was so simpleminded. But what if someone else saw him acting strangely?

~*~*~

"Ragh!"

"No, no, no! Not like that, Shiro. Sound bigger and scarier. Like this… RAARGH!"

Hitsugaya flinched at her loudness but quickly got over it. They were playing after all. He scratched his cheek and tried again.

"Oh! Hang on, Shiro! It's coming off."

"What is?"

"Your whiskers." She hurried over with a marker and told him to hold still. She grabbed the side of his face to hold him steady and started to doodle on his cheeks. He closed his eyes trustingly and allowed her to do as she pleased. "You can't keep rubbing your face like that, Shiro. You're rubbing the whiskers off. You'll never make a good wildcat if you don't have whiskers! So stop rubbing them, ok?"

He started to giggle. "Th- that tickles..!"

"What? The marker?"

The cool tip of the black marker brushed against his face, tickling him. "Y- yes! Hahahah!"

"Stop moving! You're gonna mess it all up!"

"Then stop tickling me!"

"Hang on! Hang on..! There! Done!" She stood back and admired her work. Hitsugaya now had fresh cute whiskers on his face making him look like a spiky, white-haired kitten with big aqua eyes. He looked adorable. "Now let's try this again." She stood on top of her chair and pointed a rolled up piece of paper at him. "You're the deadly scary wildcat and I'm the tamer. So try to act ferocious."

He nodded and got down on all fours. "Roar! Raagh!"

"Not bad… But louder! Much, much louder!"

"RAARGH!"

"That's it! That's it! Way to go, Shiro! Now come get me!" She jumped off her chair and ran around the room. Hitsugaya gave chase, running after her on all fours. He chased her behind the desk, around the chair, everywhere she went. He even bite at her playfully, really getting into the act of a wildcat. It was a blast! Both of them were having a load of fun.

That is until the door opened. Yachiru managed to avoid it, but Hitsugaya ran headlong into the person's legs and tumbled backwards. He held his head in his hands and moaned. It didn't hurt very much, but it still took him by surprise. He looked up and saw Ikkaku standing above him. He took one look at Ikkaku's scary features and scurried backwards.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"Hey!" Yachiru barked up at him. "You interrupted our game!"

"Oh, boo-hoo!" Ikkaku snorted. "Is the Captain around?"

"Nope! Kenny's still in the infirmary. But he's going to be released either tonight or tomorrow morning. It would have been sooner, but he was making such a fuss, Nursey said that he had to stay longer."

"So Unohana won't let him leave because he might reopen his wounds, huh? Well, that's a pain."

Yachiru glared at him.

"What?"

"You interrupted our game! And you didn't even say sorry!"

Ikkaku groaned. "Oh, please! Don't give me that! Who cares?!"

"We do!"

"I mean people who matter!"

She jumped up, latched onto Ikkaku and bit down on his bald head.

"YEOW! Get off! Get off!!"

She bit down even harder like a shark.

"Ow! OW! OW! Stop it! You're biting through! OW! Stop it!"

Hitsugaya was shaken up at first, but then he had an idea. Maybe this was another game. It kind of looked like fun. Maybe he should try it, too. He crawled over and bit down on Ikkaku's ankle.

"OW! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Rarrrgh! I'm a wildcat! Raargh!" he growled and bit down on his leg again.

"OW! That hurts! That hurts, you brats! Get off of me! I said… GET OFF ME!!" Ikkaku tried to throw Yachiru off him, but her sharp teeth kept her in place. But that didn't stop him from kicking Hitsugaya off his leg and halfway across the room and into the wall.

He did a complete flip through the air before slamming into the wall and slumping down to the ground in pain. Now that hurt.

Yachiru released her hold on Ikkaku's head and looked over at the fallen captain. "Shiro? Are you ok?"

He sniffed and lifted his head, showing her his tear stricken face. He was starting to cry.

Yachiru hopped down from Ikkaku's shoulder and over to Hitsugaya. Then she turned and rounded on the Soul Reaper responsible. "You hurt him!"

"I did not! I've seen the guy take much worse than that without even batting an eye."

But Hitsugaya was hurt. Normally he could shake off this kind of minor pain, but this time he could not. He couldn't help but cry. He buried his face in his hands and started to cry softly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"See?! I told you he was hurt, Baldy!"

"What did you just call me?!"

Now someone else had entered the room. It was Rangiku. She looked around the room and spotted Hitsugaya sniffling in the corner. "Captain..?" she asked softly.

He raised his head showing her his tears and smudged whiskers. He looked like an injured kitten.

Rangiku's expression shifted from curiosity, to shock, and finally to rage. "Who did this?!"

Yachiru and Hitsugaya both pointed simultaneously to Ikkaku.

Rangiku spun around and pinned him to the wall. "Why did you do that?! How could you make him cry?!"

This was the closest Ikkaku had ever come to experiencing fear. He was mostly shocked, to say the least. He had never seen Rangiku act like this before. She was like an angry mother protecting her baby.

"But… But he bit me!"

She turned to Hitsugaya, still holding onto Ikkaku's kimono. "Is that true?"

Hitsugaya wiped away some of his tears and nodded.

"Why did you do that?"

He pointed to Yachiru. "She did it first. I thought we were still playing a game."

She looked at Yachiru. Somehow, that didn't surprise her. She looked back at Ikkaku. "But why did you hurt him?!"

"I just kicked him was all."

"You kicked him?!"

"Baldy made him fly through the air and into the wall here! He flew really fast, too!"

Rangiku pulled Ikkaku over to Hitsugaya and forced him down on his knees. "You apologize to him right now!"

"But-"

"NOW!" She bashed his head against the floor, making him bow before Hitsugaya.

"Alright, fine! I'm sorry! There! Happy now?!"

Rangiku looked to Hitsugaya. "Is that good enough for you?"

He nodded, wiping away the rest of his tears.

She grabbed Ikkaku's sleeve and cleaned off the smudged black whiskers on his face.

"Hey, that's my-!"

She dropped his arm. "There. All done."

Hitsugaya gave her a grateful smile.

"Now I need you to come back to the office, ok?"

Hitsugaya was in no mood to argue. He stood up obediently and agreed. "Can I say good-bye first?"

She nodded. "But make it quick, ok?"

He nodded back.

"I'll meet you by the door when you're ready, ok?" She got up and went over to the door to wait.

If there was anything true in the universe, it was the fact that wherever Ikkaku was, Yumichika wasn't too far behind. As a matter of fact, he was waiting just outside the door when Rangiku exited the office.

"So…" he drawled smugly. "… wanna tell me anything?"

She stopped in her tracks. "Like what?"

"Like why Hitsugaya is acting like a four-year-old?"

"No, he's not!"

Busted.

"Don't give me that. In all the time I've known him, I've never seen him act like this before. What's going on?"

"Nothing!" she insisted.

"Oh, please. I'm not that stupid. You can't fool me. I know something's going on. Now tell me what happened. Did you get him drunk or something?"

"No! He doesn't drink!"

"Did you slip him a little something, something?"

"No!" She had to get out of here before their secret was exposed. "Now, why don't you leave me alone? We have things to do."

"Yeah, I bet." Yumichika put his hands on his hips and leaned into her face, raising a feathered brow. "Tell me the truth."

"There's nothing to tell!"

"Oh, come on… Rangiku, I-"

"There you are, you prissy homo!"

All the color drained from Yumichika's face. "Oh, no! Not again!"

Kira drew his sword and charged at him at full speed. "Fight me, you buttercup! Be a man and draw!"

"AHH! Get away from me!" Yumichika bolted down the hall and made a sharp turn to the right.

Kira pushed passed Rangiku, giving chase. He swung his sword wildly and yelled after Yumichika to come back and face him. "Get back here! You won't get away this time! Show me your zanpakuto's power! Show me your bankai! I know you can do it! I've seen it before! All those pretty flower thingies! Show me! Fight me! Come at me, gay man!"

"I am not gay!"

"Then be a man and fight!"

Ikkaku stuck his head out into the hall. His face lit up as if he had just unwrapped his first bike on his birthday as a child. This was an amazing sight for him to behold. "Oh-ho-ho man! He's at it again?! Sweet! Hey, Kira! Don't start without me! I gotta see this!"

Rangiku stepped off to the side and let Ikkaku pass by. This was getting a lot worse…

~*~*~

Hitsugaya obediently followed her all the way back to the office with no complaints whatsoever. He had had his fun and was ready to take a break. He held onto Rangiku's hand as she led him back to his office.

Once they got there, however, things only got a lot worse. Rangiku stopped in the doorway causing Hitsugaya to bump into her back. He removed his nose from her spine and looked up at her. A second later he had to cover his ears as her shrill voice rang out.

"HANATARO! What are you doing?!"

Said Soul Reaper looked up at her from behind her desk. "Nothin'."

"It doesn't look like nothing! Just what do you think you're doing with my secret stash?!"

Hanataro looked down at the sake bottle in his hand. "Just drinkin' 'em. Why?"

She stormed into the room and snatched the bottle out of his hand. "I'll tell you why! Because I was saving those for myself when Hitsugaya wasn't looking! You know how he is about sake in the office."

Hanataro belched. "Well, here's a thought… Don't hide sake bottles in the biggest bottom drawer you got in your desk. That's the first place I'd look."

"Clearly… But he already found all the other hiding places I've got! It was worth a shot… And you drank them all!"

"Not all o' 'em… Just… Let's see…" He counted. "Five. Just five."

"Five?!"

"It woulda been six but you took that one away."

She could smell the alcohol on his breath. He was also slurring his words a little. "Hanataro, are you drunk?"

He shrugged. "Not really… You need stronger stuff fo' that to hap'n."

"Don't give me that! You are drunk!"

"Ha! Not very. I can still walk. See?" Hanataro struggled to get out of his seat. He staggered to his feet, holding onto the desk for support and walked shakily to the front of the desk. "See? I'm fine."

"You're blind stinking drunk, you idiot. Now sit down before you hurt yourself."

"I toldja, I'm fine!" he slurred drunkenly.

"As a medic, you should know about the dangers of alcohol poisoning. Even I know when to stop. You'll kill your liver!" _My God, I sound like Hitsugaya..! _

"I keep telling' ya, I'm fine! 'Sides, as a medic, I t'ink I kno- hic!- ow what I'm doin'!"

Rangiku put a hand to her forehead. This was embarrassing. There was no way Hanataro in his right state of mind would ever go anywhere near alcohol. This definitely wasn't him.

Hanataro stumbled clumsily across the room, grabbing onto anything he could get his hands on for support.

"Please sit down. You're in no condition to walk. You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"I'm Fi- hic!- ine… Just fine. Lemme alone!" He staggered over to the door, putting his hand on Hitsugaya's head for balance and leaned against the doorframe. "I'm just fine. No worries… Hic! I'm just fine..!"

"Well, you sure don't look it."

Hanataro slumped against the doorframe and held his head. "I'm fine… I'm ok… I just- Hic!- Need to go home and get some sle- hic!- ep. A little sleep and I'll be good to go..!" He stumbled into the hall, running his hand along the wall as a sort of guide as he practically dragged himself back the way he had come.

Hitsugaya gave Rangiku a worried look. She could understand why. At this point, all she wanted was for that hypnotist woman to hurry up and contact her. They needed to reverse this fast. Things were starting to get out of hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Now that he had spent most of his day playing with the hyper lieutenant of squad 11, Hitsugaya was ready for a nice long rest. He stretched out on the couch and made himself comfortable. He glanced over at the desk where Rangiku was still filling out paperwork.

"How long are you gonna do that?" he asked.

She glanced up at him and then looked back down at the papers. "I would go much faster if you helped me."

He stuck out his tongue. "Yuck! I hate doing that stupid, boring paperwork."

That was a good answer. Doing all this paperwork reminded her why she hated doing it, too. It was rather tedious. But at least she was making a dent in it. Hopefully no more would come in tonight so she wouldn't have to work for too much longer. She only had one more stack to finish on the desk and then she could move on to the ones surrounding his desk. At least she was making progress. Perhaps this would please Hitsugaya once he was back to normal. How could he be mad about being hypnotized when it forced his lazy lieutenant to do all the paperwork for him?

As time passed, Hitsugaya kept sliding in and out of a light doze. He was worn out from his adventure today and being stuck in this quiet room with Rangiku doing paperwork was so boring. It was no wonder he was starting to get a little sleepy. His head kept bobbing. His head snapped back up and he looked around drowsily. It was prefect for a nap. Nice and quiet, in a warm room, on a comfy couch, after a long day of play, in late afternoon… This was the ideal time for a nice long nap.

He looked over the back of the couch to Rangiku. "Rangiku… Is it ok if I take a little nap?"

His voice was soft and tired. He did need a nap. "I don't mind, Captain. Go ahead."

He nodded and fluffed up a pillow and laid down on the couch. He snuggled into the soft pillow and relaxed. "Will you wake me up for dinner?"

She smiled without looking up. "Sure." She slapped another piece of paperwork on the 'out' pile. "Did you have fun today, sir?"

"By the way, you don't have to call me that. 'Sir' makes me sound so big and mature. I'm not a grown-up yet. But 'Captain' is fine with me."

"Then what would you rather I call you?"

"I kinda like 'Little Shiro'… I think it makes me sound cute." He hugged his pillow tightly. "Momo calls me that all the time."

"I thought you hated that."

"Mm-mnn… Not really. I don't know why I always said that I hated it when I didn't. I think it makes me sound cute… and I like cute."

She lowered her pen. "Really?"

"Yup."

This was strange. Normally he claimed that he hated anything childish or cute. Did he hide that from everyone to been seen more as a mature adult in their eyes? Then again, in this state, she wasn't sure what traits were true and the ones that weren't. For all she knew, nothing out of his mouth was true. He was hypnotized, after all.

"Maybe when you're done, we can play a game together…"

Rangiku placed another sheet of paperwork in front of her. "What about Yachiru? I thought you guys liked to play together."

"But Kenpachi is being released from the infirmary. He scares me."

"I know what you mean."

"She's gonna be spending all her time with him so I better stay out of their way. He might kill me."

"Nah. He only kills bad guys… and anyone who challenges him. Don't worry, you're safe."

"By the way, why did you get so mad at Ikkaku before?"

Rangiku's pen stopped moving. "Well, because he hurt you. That's why."

"I think you scared him a little."

"Nah, he doesn't get scared."

"Still… I've never seen you so mad before. You were pretty scary."

Rangiku thought about it for a moment. Come to think of it, she hardly ever got that way. Looking back, she had to admit that she did act very protectively towards Hitsugaya. Almost motherly… "Well, maybe I didn't have to be so rough with him… But he did hurt you and… I don't know. I just acted without thinking. It made me mad that he hurt you and made you cry. I don't know what else to say."

"It's 'cause you love me, isn't it?"

She dropped the pen. "What?!"

He turned his head to look at her. "It's 'cause we're friends, right? You came to protect me because you care about me and don't want me to get hurt. 'Cause we're friends, right?"

She smiled at him. "Of course we're friends. Maybe that's why I did it."

He turned back around and closed his eyes. "Did I ever thank you for that?"

"For what? Making Ikkaku apologize?"

"No…" he stifled a yawn. "For convincing me to come here. You're the one who told me to leave home and Granny. Don't get me wrong, I still miss her. But if it weren't for you, all my talents would have been wasted. I'm glade you brought me here. If you hadn't, I would have never become a captain and made all these friends. I never had many friends before. Just Granny and Momo."

That was very sweet. He thought of her as a friend? He never told her that before. "You really think of me as your friend?"

"Not just you," he mumbled sleepily. He was starting to drift off. "I like everyone on Squad 10. And as hard as it is the believe, I also like Yumichika and Ikkaku, as scary as he is. I like a lot of people here. I have a lot of friends now and it wouldn't have happened if I had never come here. So thanks for bringing me here."

She was taken aback by this. He had never expressed these feelings to her before. "You think of all of us as your friends? Really?"

He nodded. "Even that substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo… I think of him as a friend, too."

Now that she found strange. "I thought you couldn't stand him."

"Not really… I actually think we're kinda similar…"

'Similar'? Them? How? How were Ichigo and Hitsugaya similar?

She was about to ask him this but he suddenly became very quiet. "Captain?"

She heard soft snores coming from the couch. He had fallen asleep. She sighed. It was such a tender moment they had just shared… She wished it had lasted just a little while longer. It was rare for them to have conversations like this, after all. He always kept things to himself. Now she had so many things to ask him, including whether he really meant what he said or not.

~*~*~

"I will deliver it!"

"Get off me! I'll do it!"

"You don't know what you're doing! Outta my way!"

"Shuddup! I got it!"

At this point, Rangiku was about ready to bash her head against a wall; but after hearing those two voices, she was ready to bash it against a cinderblock. Kiyone and Sentaro were at it again, arguing outside the closed door. Why they were so close to this end of the building was still a mystery to her at this point. But she had to find a way to quiet them soon, or they might wake up Hitsugaya.

"I'll deliver it!"

"No, I will!"

They both came crashing through the door and onto the floor of the office, causing Hitsugaya to bolt up on the couch.

Darn! Too late now…

Hitsugaya blinked blearily around, not too pleased that he had just been woken from a very peaceful nap. He turned around and saw too strangers in the room just a few feet from the couch. In an instant, his shyness kicked in and he cowered behind his pillow.

"What are you two doing here?" Rangiku demanded. She had had just about enough of this! Unless it was good news, she wanted both of them out of here as fast as possible.

Kiyone pushed Sentaro away and pulled out a letter. "Captain Ukitake told me-"

"US!" Sentaro corrected.

"-Told _us_ to deliver this letter to you. Either he received it by mistake or he was the one who got his hands on it first… Either way, he wanted us to give it to you."

"So here we are to give you this letter!"

They both had a hold of a very crumpled up letter in their hands and were trying to hand it to her. This proved to be quite difficult considering the fact that they both hand each other in a headlock and had their legs wrapped around each other's. They looked like two rag dolls tied together in their own limps.

"I will give it to her!"

"Like hell! I'm giving it to her!"

"I got here first!"

"Only 'cause you tripped me!"

Rangiku saved them the trouble and snatched the letter out of both of their hands. "There! It was delivered! Now will you leave me alone?!"

"Ha! She got it out of my hand first!"

"Did not! It was my hand!"

"For God's sake! It was at the same time! You both had a hold of the same letter and I got it! It's done!"

They both scrambled out the door, still ageing about who delivered the letter first and therefore would receive praise from Captain Ukitake.

She had to admit that she was thoroughly relieved that that headache of an episode was over and all was quiet again. She looked down at the letter in her hand. Letter? She gasped out loud and ripped the envelope open.

Hitsugaya watched her quietly from his spot on the couch with curiosity. After about ten seconds, she jumped up and down squealing with joy. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's the letter I've been waiting for! She got it!"

He cocked his head to the side. He had no idea who she had written to. But if it made Rangiku happy, then it must be good.

_This is wonderful! She got the letter! It'll all be over soon! Hitsugaya will be back to normal and he can finish up these stupid papers!_

She skimmed down the letter, reading it over again.

'_I will arrive at the Soul Society in about two days. Please make sure that the gate is open for me. I'll try to make this right.'_

Two days?! Did she say two days?! That was a long time away from now! She needed her here now, not in two days! Who knows how much more trouble those three could get into?

But at least she was coming…

That was an encouraging thought. At least she was coming. She was on her way. That was good news. Wonderful news. Soon Hitsugaya, Hanataro and Kira would all be back to normal. That would be wonderful… To put an end to all this nonsense. She needed to set everything right.

"Fight me!"

"Get away from me, Kira!"

"I said fight me, buttercup!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Wah-hahahahahaha!"

"Stop laughing, Ikkaku, and stop him!"

Rangiku moaned at the commotion in the hall. _Please hurry_…

~*~*~

If they were ever going to get that woman back here to reverse this spell, then they would need permission to have her enter the Soul Society. The last thing they needed was to have everyone thinking that she was an intruder. That would be a huge mess. But Rangiku wasn't sure how to request permission to have her come in and visit. She never really needed to do that before, so she never bothered to pay any attention as to how it was done. Besides, usually it was the captain who did it. But Hitsugaya was in no position to do that now. Besides, he didn't even know that he was hypnotized. The last thing she needed right now was for him to figure it out. He'd raise Hell!

The only thing she could do was to have someone else get permission for the hypnotist to enter. Unohana was the perfect choice for that since she was the one who did it in the first place. She must know what she was doing.

And that's what brought Rangiku to Unohana's office door. She had to make this fast. She only hoped that the captain hadn't left for dinner yet. She was about to go in when she realized something and looked down at the white-haired captain at her side. There were two things she needed: she needed to make sure that Hitsugaya didn't hear their conversation and figure things out, and she also needed to keep other people out of the office until she was finished talking with Unohana. She had to take care of that first.

"Captain…" She bent down to his level. "I need you to do something for me. Can you do that?"

"Uh… Sure. What is it?"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "I need you to do a big, strong job and protect this door ok?"

"Huh?"

"I need you to guard this door and keep anyone from coming in. Ok? Can you do that? It's an important job but I think you're up to it, aren't you?"

Hitsugaya's eyes were sparkling. The promise of an important job just for him was causing him to bubble with excitement. He nodded vigorously with a big smile on his face. "Yeah! I can do that!"

"Good! Just keep people from going inside, ok? Don't let anyone in until I came out. Got it?"

He saluted her. "Yup! I got it! No problem! You can count on me!"

She smiled at her captain and went into the office, closing the door behind her.

Hitsugaya then began to immediately pace in front of the door like a soldier. "Hup, 2, 3, 4! Hup, 2, 3, 4!" he kept repeating to himself as he paced. This was his job. His important task. He'd do a good job for sure. He was a good little captain.

That is, until he heard voices coming from down the hall towards him. His shyness kicked in and he looked frantically around for something to hide behind. But nothing was around. Not even a potted plant. He was so exposed. He panicked. Be backed up into the wall and hid behind his hands.

"D-do you see him anywhere? Are you sure it's safe?"

"Relax, Yumichika. It's fine. He's not here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we lost him. You're fine."

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you stop him?!"

"I did what I could."

"You were laughing!"

"Oh, come on! You're such a baby! It's not like Kira was gonna kill you or anything."

"The way he was acting, I wouldn't put it passed him."

"Oh, please..!"

"I mean it, Ikkaku! You've seen his zanpakuto, haven't you?! I'll be decapitated!"

"He's not gonna kill you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know."

"That's not good enough! Haven't you noticed that he's been acting weird lately?"

"No more than usual…"

"But, Ikkaku..!"

"Oh, hey, Hitsugaya. What's up?"

"Meh!" he whimpered from behind his hands.

Both men stopped and did a double-take. "Are you ok?"

"Uh-huh."

Ikkaku wasn't convinced, but it wasn't like him to pry. So he dismissed it. "Alright, whatever. Come on, Yumichika. Let's take care of that."

They moved towards the door he was supposed to be guarding. Hitsugaya threw himself in front of it, blocking their way. "No! You can't go in here!"

They both stopped. "And why not? We have business with Unohana."

"You have to wait until Rangiku is finished in there."

"But this can't wait!" Yumichika whined. "That brute Kira cut my arm! I have to get her to heal this unsightly gash on my arm!"

"What gash?!" Ikkaku barked. "That's a boo-boo, tops!"

"Is not! Look at it!"

Yumichika made it out to be much worse than it actually was. He rolled up his sleeve and showed them all a small cut about as long as his pinky finger and a very thin trickle of blood. Hardly a gash… It was nothing more than a bad paper cut at best.

"That's a wound?"

Yumichika covered the injury with his sleeve again. "What do you know? Either way, it's in the way! I will not have my flawless skin blemished by this horrible gash! Out of my way, Hitsugaya."

He wouldn't go back on his word. He had promised to protect this door for Rangiku and he was going to do just that. He barricaded the door with his body, stretching his arms out to either side as far as they would go and stuck out his chest. "You cannot go inside!"

Ikkaku looked down at the one-man barricade. What made this even more embarrassing, other than being stopped by such a pathetic move, was the fact that the one doing it was half his size. "You've got to be kidding…"

But Hitsugaya wasn't moving. He thought he was doing a good job. Simply standing here blocking their way like this was an excellent idea. There was no way they could get in now. He was such a good little guard! Rangiku would be so proud of him!

Of course, they could have simply pushed him down or walked around him, but they didn't. This was humiliating. Being stopped by such a simple and childish…

Childish?

Wait a minute! Hitsugaya never did anything childish. He hated anything even associated with the word. But here he was doing just that: acting childish. Something wasn't right.

"Yumichika… I'm starting to see what you mean."

"See? You see now?"

They looked back down at Hitsugaya's pose. He was still puffing out his chest and wore a tough expression on his face. He really did think that this would be enough to stop them. He thought he was such a tough little captain.

But there was no way Hitsugaya, not Hitsugaya of all people, could actually be doing anything childish. Not him! But there was one way to find out for sure…

"I have an idea," Yumichika whispered to Ikkaku. He pulled out something from his pocket. "Hey, Captain, want a candy?"

Hitsugaya's tough expression melted away into one of curiosity and wonder. He saw a small piece of candy in a shiny wrapper dangling from Yumichika's fingertips. He lowered his arms and took a step forward.

"Do you want it?"

"Uh-huh."

He held the candy closer. "You sure?"

"Uh-huh!" Hitsugaya made a grab for the sweet, but Yumichika pulled it away. "Please?"

"Can you move away from the door?"

Hitsugaya was about to comply when he remembered his promise. "No, I can't. I told Rangiku that I…"

Yumichika waved it in his face, taunting him. Hitsugaya's eyes followed it wherever it went. "You want it, don't you?" He moved the piece of candy up and down, making Hitsugaya nod as his head followed the candy.

Ikkaku and Yumichika both smiled evilly to each other. Something was up with Hitsugaya and they were going to find out what.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"Oh, my… So that's what's been happening? I thought something was wrong with them…" Unohana put a hand to her cheek, deeply concerned. "That explains what's been happening around here. And Hitsugaya?"

"He still has no idea and I'd like to keep it that way. You know what kind of temper he has. If he finds out what happened to him…" Rangiku shuttered at the thought.

Unohana seemed to understand perfectly. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll make sure that the woman is treated as a proper guest and not an intruder. Trust me."

"Oh, I knew I could count on you!" Rangiku clapped her hands together and jumped for joy. This was fantastic! It seemed like all the loose ends were tied up. "Oh!" Rangiku stopped jumping and gave the captain a serious look. "You won't tell Hitsugaya, will you?"

"Of course not. You want to keep it a secret from him, don't you?"

"Yes, but that goes for everyone else, as well. You won't tell anyone, will you? Please don't let anyone else know, please?"

She smiled her ever soft, patient smile and nodded. "What we discussed in this room stays in this room. Don't worry."

Rangiku let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness..! Thank you so much!"

"It's no trouble, really…" Unohana said, still smiling. "By the way, have you seen Hanataro lately? He hasn't shown up for his duties in a couple of days now. He's under the spell, too, isn't he? Where has he gone?"

"Drunk, I expect…" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Uh… Nothing, nothing… But if you do happen to see him, please go easy on him. He has no idea what he's doing anymore."

"I understand that."

"He's not himself at all."

"I understand that."

Rangiku shut her eyes and grimaced at the thought of what Hanataro was doing now. He might have been in a bar somewhere getting wasted. He may have been hitting on women twice his own age and drinking himself stupid. What an idea! Why did he ever agree to change himself with Kira anyway? He was so much better before compared to this.

~*~*~

"Tell us what she's doing in there and we'll give you the candy."

"I- I…" Hitsugaya was torn. Candy or Rangiku? Which should he choose? Both were so important to him. Yumichika dangled the candy over Hitsugaya's head and pulled it out of his reach as he made another grab for it. He was teasing him! "Please give me the candy?"

"Tell us what's going on."

"But-"

"Tell us and you'll get it."

Hitsugaya gulped, staring intensely at the candy. It was too tempting. "I don't know what they're doing in there. Rangiku just told me to guard the door. Now can I please have it?"

Yumichika pulled the candy further away. "That's not good enough. Tell us!"

"But I don't know! Please gimme the candy! Please!" He started to jump up and down for it. But Yumichika kept the candy out of his reach. Hitsugaya felt so helpless. "Please?" He tried the puppy eyes. "Pretty please? May I please have it? _Please_?"

That look had no effect on Ikkaku whatsoever. Yumichika, on the other hand, could feel his heart melting. He had no idea that Hitsugaya could be so cute. Those big sparkling aqua eyes of his were pulling on his heartstrings. That sweet, innocent look… he was being pulled into those big aqua pools of cuteness. It was working.

"Please?" Hitsugaya stuck his lip out for effect and made his eyes a little bigger and more sparkly.

Yumichika bit his lip but a small whine escaped him anyway. He was going to give in, he knew it. It was just too much cuteness. He couldn't handle it! "Well…" He fiddled with the candy in his fingers.

"Hey!" Ikkaku snapped. "Don't give in! That's not how a bribe works!"

"I know, but…" Yumichika looked from Hitsugaya back to Ikkaku with big eyes. "He's just so cute!"

Ikkaku's eye twitched. He knew how much Yumichika was obsessed with looks and anything 'pretty'… But this was ridiculous! He was being won over by Hitsugaya's cuteness?! Ikkaku had never found Hitsugaya to be cute in any way. How could Yumichika let Hitsugaya break him like this. It was almost too easy.

"You have got to be joking… How could you let him have his way?!"

"He's being cute!" Yumichika chirped, face aglow. He was being won over way too easily.

Hitsugaya was aware of this and decided to put the icing on the cake. He tugged on Yumichika's sleeve gently. When he turned, Hitsugaya stuck his fist under his chin and gave Yumichika the cutest upward-glance he could muster. You could practically see the little flowers and hearts dancing around his face.

That was all it took. "Oh, that is the cutest look I've ever seen!" Yumichika squealed and wriggled and bounced in place, unable to stand the cuteness any longer. "He's so cute! So cute! Ohh!" In one swift momevent, he had grabbed Hitsugaya in a great big bear hug and nuzzled him with his face. "You're adorable! I can't stand it! I can't! I just can't! I don't know how you did it, but you've mastered the ultimate cuteness! I love it!"

Hitsugaya was being smothered in Yumichika's chest. He somehow managed to claw his way up so he could look into his eyes. "May I pwease have the candy now?"

Yumichika had to give in now. He was completely helpless against that amount of cuteness the little captain just displayed. "Of course you can! Here you go!" He handed over the candy.

As Hitsugaya reached out for it, another hand reached out and snatched it away. It was Ikkaku and he didn't look too happy. "What's gotten into you?! Snap out of it! He can have this when he tells us what we want to know!"

Yumichiak and Hitsugaya gave him identical glares.

"You can't do that! He said I could have it! Besides, I already told you what I knew!"

"Yeah, Ikkaku! Besides, look how cute he is!"

Ikkaku remained tough and held the candy out of reach. "No! He gets it when I say so!"

Hitsugaya tried the cute look again on Ikkaku. "Pwease? Pweddy pwease?"

Ikkaku lowered his face to his level and snorted in his face. "No."

He looked shocked. "Please?"

"That cute crap won't work on me so you might as well forget it."

Hitsugaya's cute face vanished and was replaced by a look of rage. "Give me the candy now!" he demanded.

Ikkaku held the candy over his head. "No!"

Hitsugaya stromed over to him and began to jump up and down trying to reach the candy.

"Now, Yumichika, open the door!"

Hitsugaya gasped. He was so fixed on getting the candy that he had forgotten to block the door. He stuck out his leg to block the doorway while keeping a solid hold on Ikkaku's arms and balancing on his other leg on the ground. "No! You can't go in there!"

"Oh, yeah? Try and stop us!" Ikkaku challenged.

And Hitsugaya was going to take him up on that offer…

~*~*~

"Do you need anything else?"

"No, just what you gave me is fine. Thank you." Rangiku bowed to Unohana in thanks.

"I hope things work out alright. After all, we can't have them acting like this for the rest of their lives. Hitsugaya isn't doing any work, Hanataro has disappeared, and Kira keeps challenging people."

"Has he gotten hurt yet?"

Unohana shook her head. "Not really. A few bumps on the head from people hitting him to try and get him off their bodies. Nothing serious. No one really wants to fight him, actually. They think of him more as a nusance than anything. It's best to reverse this spell they're under before their reputations are further damaged."

"I know what you mean…" Rangiku moaned.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Gimme it!"

"Get off me!"

"Ahh! He's in my hair! My beautiful hair!"

"Don't go in there!"

"OW! Let go! Ouch! That hurts!"

"Don't go in! I told you no!"

"Stop it!"

"You first!"

"Jeez! What's with this guy?!"

"Get him off me!"

"You?! Get him off _me_!"

"I said stop! Don't go in there! And gimme my candy!"

"OW! Ow! It hurts! Make him stop!"

Unohana stared at the door, smile finally gone. "What is going on out there?"

Rangiku hurried over to the door and slid it open. Now this was a sight to be seen. All three Soul Reapers were tangled up in each other, half on the floor and half standing. Yumichika was on his knees trying to pry Hitsugaya's fists from his hair. Hitsugaya had both hands grabbing fistfuls of Yumichika's hair, one leg draped around Ikkaku's neck and the other leg dangling off the floor. Whenever he thrashed or if anyone moved, that leg of his would kick Ikkaku in the gut, which seemed to be happening about every two seconds. Ikkaku was the only one partially standing. He was hunched over by Hitsugaya's weight and the pain in his gut, trying to throw the little captain off both him and Yumichika. Needless to say, it wasn't working.

"What is going on here?!" Rangiku shouted over all the confusion.

They all stopped and looked up.

"Rangiku!" Hitsugaya chirped and jumped off Ikkaku's shoulders and bounced over to her. "I tried to keep them out, but they were-"

"I know, it's ok. I'm finished and they never made it inside. You did perfectly." She patted his head. He giggled and hugged her around the middle. He felt so proud of himself.

Yumichika got to his feet and tried to fix his messed up hair, flattening it with his hands as best he could. Ikkaku straightened up and shot Rangiku a look.

"Ok, what the hell is going on?!"

"What do you mean?"

"What were you doing in there that you had to have that ancklebitter guard the door like that?!"

"Uh… It's private."

"Like hell it is! Now tell us-"

"It was private woman business," Unohana explained. "That's why she had him guard the door. We needed a private girl moment. You wouldn't understand."

Both men shut up immediately and their faces turned slightly pink. At the term 'woman business' they knew it was time to shut up. They didn't want to know anymore.

Unohana's smile had returned and she patted Rangiku's back. "It's alright. I can handle the rest. You have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you."

Still smiling, Unohana nodded.

"Come on, Captain. Let's go get some dinner."

"Coming!" he jumped and followed her. But not before stopping and snatching the piece of candy from Ikkaku on his way pass them. He snickered triumphantly and tucked it away in his kimono.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hitsugaya's cuteness has effected Yumichika! XD

Ikkaku, you suck for not seeing it… but I still love you anyway!

Please review! That way I can tell if his cuteness has effected you too so I can keep writing more! ^-^


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Kira couldn't shake this overwhelming feeling. He felt like he had to rip something to shreds. He really, really wanted to fight someone. Anyone! But for some reason, they all ran away from him. Wasn't there anyone to challenge him?

He scratched his neck and looked up at the sky. It was peaceful everywhere but in his heart. It hadn't stopped pounding since this morning when he woke up. All he could think about what fighting strong opponents. He had become completely obsessed with battle. He wished for a whole sworm of Hollows to show up and maybe even an army of Menos so he could fight something. Until then, all he could do was wonder the streets searching for someone to battle. He had never felt this way before. This unquenchable bloodlust… This deep longing for battle… It was almost too much for him to bare. He had to draw his sword and fight smething. He had to!

Several blocks later, he spotted a shadowed figure moving towards him. Smirking, he put a hand on his sword, preparing to draw. "Well?" he called. He was feeling very confidant. "Who's there? Wanna fight?!"

The figure raised a hand clumsily. "Relax, it's just me."

Kira squinted in the dark. "Hanataro?"

Said Soul Reaper emerged from the shadows. "Yo. 'Sup?"

Kira looked down at Hanataro's haggard appearance. His kimono was open exposeing his chest and his hair was all messed up and in his face. His sunken eyes were bloodshot and narrow and his face was unusually pale. "Dude, you look terrible."

Hanataro moaned. "I don't feel so good, neither… I think I drank too much."

"Ah, sake?"

"Sake, beer, vodka… you name it, I drank it…" He belched and put a hand to his head. "Ohh..! I don't feel so good… I thought if maybe I slept it off… Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna die…"

Kira removed his hand from his sword and allowed it to drop back at his side. "Have you stopped drinking?"

"Well, yeah… I'm not drinkin' now, am I?"

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant. I'm just messing with ya… Haha- ow! Ohh..! It hurts to laugh…"

Kira sighed. "Jeez, man, you're such a mess."

Hanataro slumped against a wall and sat down on the ground. "I feel like hell… I shouldn't have drank so much… It hurts…"

"Just how much did you have tonight?"

He counted on his fingers. "About 14 shots, two beers and five sake bottles… And that was before lunch. I went home and passed out on the floor. I woke up just about an hour ago." He moaned again. "Ouch! Ugh, it hurts… I really shouldn't have drank so much…"

"Then why did you?"

"I can't resist the stuff. It's callin' to me man!"

Kira sat down next to him. There was no sense in fighting such a weak opponent. But there was nothing stopping him from talking to him for a few minutes until someone else wondered by. He could pick a fight then.

"So… Here you are… Heh, I never thought I'd ever see you drunk out of your mind."

"Me neither… I just can't help myself anymore. It's no use. I just have this overwhelming urge to flirt and drink. Those two things seem to be the only things that matter to me now."

"Just like every real man," Kira smirked and leaned back against the wall.

Hanataro continued to rub his head for a few minutes before glancing up at Kira again. "Do you… remember what you were like before?"

"Eh?"

"Do you rememebr what you were like before you changed?"

Kira hadn't really thought about it. He tried to think. "Mmm… Barely. I mean, I kind of do but… It's like a forgotten dream. It's a vague blur."

"I know what you mean. I kind of remember it, but it's very unclear. It's strange. I mean, I remember my past. I know what I was like, I know what I did, but it's as if it happened to someone else, not me. It's like waking up from a long dream…" Hanataro began drawing cirlcles in the ground with his finger. "It's hard to explain. I'm not sure if I really can… But it's almost like everything that has happened to me before I got changed was a part of a dream and I've only just now woken up. Everything I said and did before was my dream-self and not me. You know?"

"I think I do. For me it's about the same." Kira looked up at the sky. "I can't really remember what I was like before or why I was the way I was, but… Ah, it's strange! Why is it so hard for us to remember?"

Hanataro flicked a pebble across the street. "Maybe it's because this is who we are now."

He sighed. "I guess so…"

"Why? Do you want to remember?"

"I don't know what I want anymore. All I ever want to do now is fight, but with no one around to fight, what can I do? I can barely remember what I did before I changed myself."

"Do you regret it?"

Kira frowned. "Not bloody likely. I still stick by what I said before. I think I'm much better like this. I'm stronger, more capable. Hell, even Ikkaku likes me now. Before he didn't speak to me if he could help it."

"Oh, he spoke to you."

"Yeah, insults flying..!"

"Nah, just most of the time. He's said things to you before that weren't insulting. It was rare, but he still said things to you."

Kira muttered under his breath.

They sat like this for a few more minutes before footsteps came their way. Hanataro rolled his eyes and prepared to jump out of the way if need be. Two Soul Reapers came around the corner and Kira jumped to his feet. That same overwhelming feeling was back and stronger than ever. He really wanted- no, needed- to rip something to shreds.

The two men stopped. "Aw, crap! Not again!"

"Fight me! Fight me, you wusses!" Kira drew his sword and gave chase as the two ran for their lives.

Hanataro remained where he was and rubbed his temples trying to get rid of this horrible headache. Then an stupid thought occurred to him. If drinking can numb the pain, then it should help with a headache. He got up and took off down the street in the pursuit of more alcohol. Maybe it was dumb logic, or maybe it was the fact that he really, really wanted another drink. Either way he was going to get some one way or another.

~*~*~

It had been a very long day for both of them. Rangiku was fed up with all this never-ending paperwork and about ready to chuck it out the window. It wouldn't be such a pain if Hitsugaya helped out a little bit. _Is this what it's like for him with me? That would explain his bad mood…_

She looked over her shoulder at Hitsugaya on the couch. They had brought their dinner up to the office again to keep out of sight of the other Soul Reapers who knew nothing of what's been going on. Ikkaku and Yumichika were suspicious enough as it was, she didn't need anyone else finding out about his condition and tormenting him about it.

She walked over to the couch. Her captain had been awfully quiet for some time now and she was begaining to wonder what was going on. She came around to the front of the couch and saw something that made her heart melt from cuteness.

Hitsugaya was nodded off over his dinner. He was sucking sleepily on a large slice of watermelon he had in his hands with his eyes closed and making sleepy mumbles as he tried to drink the juice dipping from the fruit down his arms. He was so tired but so determined to finish his favorite food.

"Aw… How adorable..!"

"Hm?" He opened his heavy eyes and looked up at her. "What is it..?" he slurred sleepily.

"I think it's time you went to bed, don't you?"

Hitsugaya took the watermelon out of his mouth and set it down on his lap. His face was covered with watermelon juice and drool. "But I'm still eating."

Rangiku bent down and mopped up his face. "I know, but you look so sleepy."

"I am…" Hitsugaya rubbed his eyes.

She smiled sympathetically at him. He was fighting so hard to stay awake so he could finish his meal. How cute…

He took a small bite out of the watermelon and chewed slowly. His eyeslids drooped and his head began to nod. His head snapped up and he tried to take another bite of melon.

Rangiku put a hand on his, forcing him to lower the watermelon. He locked eyes with her. "Come on. You're too tired. We'll save that for later. Come on. Let's get some sleep."

He nodded and allowed her to take the melon away from him. She cleaned off his hands and face. While she did so, he couldn't help but notice how motherly she was acting towards him. Here was his normally lazy, self-obsessed lieutenant taking care of him. He couldn't help but wonder why he always turned her down whenever she asked him to accompany her on a fun outing. 'Let's go to the hot springs!' she'd say, or 'let's catch a break and relax of once'. Why did he always turn her down on those offers? They all sounded so fun. And it wasn't just to avoid doing work, it was also for his sake, too, right? She was worried about him and wanted to take care of him. She was just looking out for him like a true friend would. But she was his friend. And here she was, still taking care of him. Maybe she wasn't as self-obsessed as he thought. She really did care. She only wanted what's best for him. And right now, the best thing for him was to go to bed.

As she finished cleaning him off, Hitsugaya stretched his arms out towards her.

"What?" she asked.

"Carry me," he mumbled to her. "I'm too tired to walk. Please?"

With a soft sigh, she got down on one knee and turned her back to him. He climbed onto her back and she stood up, giving him a piggyback ride. She carried him out of the office and down the hall, down the stairs and out the door leading to the streets.

It was a peaceful night tonight. It was such a clear night, they could see all the stars in the sky and the crescent moon above. Hitsugaya flattened himself against her back and tried to get comfortable. He rested his head on her shoulder and twiddled a strand of her hair between his fingers. He started to close his eyes…

"Get back here!"

"Ahhh!"

"Get back here, you big wusses!"

"Ahhh! Get away!"

"Go away, Kira! Stop it!"

"Fight me! Fight me, I said!"

"We heard you, so hear us when we say 'no way in hell'!"

Rangiku backed up as two Soul Reapers came running like bats out of hell down the street in front of her and Kira chasing after them as fast as he could, swinging his blade like a mad man. She felt Hitsugaya clench the fabric of her kimono as he hid himself behind her back. She gave him a reassuring grin and stroked his hand to relax his grip on her shoulder.

A few minutes later, all was quiet again and they continued their walk down the street towards his house. Now all was calm, including the little captain on her back. He had snuggled into her warmth and became very quiet. He had been unusually silent. As she got ready to ask if he was ok, she felt him slump to the side, nice and limp having just fallen asleep.

She smiled. "Oh, Captain… You couldn't last ten more feet?" Sure enough, they were only a few feet from the outside of his home.

She carried him inside and to the bedroom. She rolled back the covers and set him down in the middle of his large soft bed. He didn't stir an inch. He must have been really tired. She tucked him in and placed a stuffed animal under his arm for company. To her delight he smiled and hugged the stuffed pink elephant close to his chest and rested his cheek on its head.

As she turned to leave, she stopped and looked back at his bed. _Maybe I should stay the night… Just in case he wakes up_. She turned back and climbed into the futon on the floor near his bed.

~*~*~

The next morning, Rangiku found herself face to face with a pair of big, bright aqua eyes staring into her light blue ones. She nearly jumped had she not recognize the innocent eyes of her captain.

"Are you awake?" he asked, sitting on her chest.

"Captain, please…"

He pulled back and shifted his weight down to her lower stomach. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, not hurt. Don't worry." She tired to sit up but she was still pinned down by Hitsugaya. "Could you, maybe…"

"Oh, sorry." He climbed off her body and sat by her side as she got up. "So are you awake?"

"I am now, yes."

"Yay!" he cheered. "Now we can go to the office and have fun!"

She blinked. Why was he so happy to be going to the office? "Captain, why are you so happy about that?"

He giggled and said brightly, "Because that means we get to spend more time together! We can play and have some fun!"

Rangiku was surprised. "But… We're supposed to be working, not playing."

"I know, but we still get to hang out together."

"That's why you're so happy to be going to the office? So we can hang out?"

"Uh-huh!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, let's go! Come on, hurry!"

"Wait a minute, Captain. I'm not even ready to leave just yet. I still need to get dressed. And I could use a good hot shower, too."

Hitsugaya sat at the edge of his bed and pouted. "Oh, fine..! I guess you can use my shower if you want… Just try to hurry up, please?"

~*~*~

It was a good hour later before they finally made it to the office, Rangiku piggybacking him all the way.

"Whee! Faster, faster!" he cheered her onward.

Rangiku sprinted the last few steps and stopped in front of the door. "Ok," she panted. "We're here…"

Hitsugaya jumped off her back still giggling from the fun ride. "That was great! Can we do it again?!"

"I suppose… Maybe we'll do it if we're running late again."

"But that was your fault!" He pointed an acusing finger at her. "You were taking forever to get ready! You took a whole half hour in the shower and then another half hour to get dressed! It's a freaking kimono! You just slip it on! What takes so long?"

"Hey, that shower was a lot shorter than the ones I usually take. And I not only have to get dressed, I also have to comb my hair, put on make-up, perfume, creams, everything! It takes a long time…"

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes with a small grin. "Girls are so weird..!"

Rangiku bent down and started to tickle his stomach. "Oh, yeah? Oh, yeah?!"

He squealed and giggled, trying to pull her hands away. "Ahh! No, stop!"

She stopped tickling him and patted his head. She was really going to miss this… She liked seeing this side of Hitsugaya. "Come on, let's go inside." She opened the door.

She moment she did, their ears were flooded with loud off-key singing.

"Oh..! I wish, I wish I was a fish! 'Cause then I could- hic! Could swim..! I wish fo' another drink o' dis..! I -hic! I-ay-ay! God, I love dis stuff!"

Rangiku's jaw dropped. "Hanataro?! What are you doing in here?!"

The drunken Soul Reaper laying on the floor by her desk looked up and waved. "Hi-ya! Haha! Howzit goin', Ran -hic!- giku?"

Rangiku rush over to him as he stuggled to get up. "What's gotten into you?"

"About a half dozen gallons of alcohol. Hic! God, I'm so wasted!"

"Just how long have you been in here drinking?"

He counted on his fingers. "'Bout an hour after you left. I passed out halfway through and got up again to finish drinkin'… Why?"

"Because you look terrible."

"Well, you're lookin' HOT, sugar!" Hanataro gave a drunken chuckle and tried to grab her chest.

She punched him in the face and sent him tumbling to the floor. "Snap out of it, you little perv!"

Hanataro didn't waver this time. He got right back up and tried again, knowing full well he'd get smacked again. And he did. But he just kept on laughing his head off. "Waza madda? Don't'cha like me no mo'e?"

"Not like this I don't. You're even worse! I never thought I'd say this, but I liked you better when you were clumsy and timid."

"Tell dat to -Hic!- Kira… He still t'inks it's an imp'ovment…" he slurred.

"Well, he's an idiot no matter what you do…"

Hanataro tried to crawl away but Rangiku held him back.

"No way! You're in no condition to go anywhere but to the infirmary! You can't even walk!"

"We 'ad dis same conversation b'fore! Sure I -Hic!- can! Watch dis!" Hanataro tried to get up but fell back down on the floor face first. "Lemme try again…"

Rangiku groaned. "Oh, just stop already! It's no use! You can't!"

"Sure I -Hic!- Ohhh..!" Hanataro slumped to the floor. "I don' feel so goo- ugh..!" He doubled over holding his stomach.

She gasped. "Captain! Get me a bucket of some kind! Hurry!"

Hitsugaya frantically sreached the room for such an object and raced over with a garbage can. He stuck it under Hanataro just as he started to retch. "Ew, that's gross!" Hitsugaya grimaced.

"No kiddin'…" Hanataro managed before retching again.

Rangiku rubbed Hanataro's back and he heaved again into the garbage can. _I really wish that hypnotist would hurry… I don't know how much more of this I can take!_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please review! ^-^


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

This wasn't turning out to be a very fun day for Rangiku at all. Not only did she have to take care of her captain, but now she also had to nurse Hanataro who had a huge hangover. She glanced over the mountain of paperwork at him on the couch. After retching and thowing up just about everything in his stomach, he had passed out on the floor, leaving her to carry him to the couch. Right now he was under the very close observation of Hitsugaya, who was staring at him four inches from his face. Rangiku smiled despite herself, finding that action so cute.

"Hey, Rangiku?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"How long's he gonna be sleeping?"

"Hard to say. He just sort of passed out, didn't he? Give him some time and let him sleep it off." She filed more papers. She felt so proud of herself. There was only one stack left to go! Hitsugaya was going to be so happy when all this was over. There was no way he'd be mad at her. She looked down at the remaining pile of papers and her smile faded away. The only stack left happened to be the three-foot tall stack sitting on the floor by the desk. This was going to take longer than she thought.

Hitsugaya continued to stare at Hanataro and poked him in the forehead. "Are you awake yet?"

Hanataro just snored and drooled all over the arm of the couch. He wasn't waking up.

This was so boring. Rangiku was working and Hanataro was sleeping. Who was he supposed to play with now? Not only that, but he was starting to get hungry, too. Ukitake must have had some candy he could munch on while he waited for his lieutenant to finish. He got up and went over to the door and left the office.

He knew right where Ukitake's office was and went straight for it. He couldn't wait to get there. Candy was waiting for him! He made it all the way down the hall and over to Ukitake's office. He opened the door and poked his head inside.

The respected captain looked up from the window. "Oh, Hitsugaya! What brings you here?"

"Candy!" he jumped.

Ukitake happily opened his desk and handed him a huge bag of assorted candies. "Here you are."

Hitsugaya jumped for the bag and hugged it close to his body as if Ukitake was going to take it back any second. "Thank you!"

He nodded back and returned his gaze to the window. "Ah… It's such a nice day out, isn't it?"

Hitsugaya ripped open the bag and began to stuff as much candy into his mouth as he could fit. "Mm-hmm! Mmm!"

Ukitake looked down at the streets below, cocking his head to the side for a better view. "I have to say, though… That Kira fellow is really killing the mood of this peaceful day."

Hitsugaya swallowed the candy. "Kira?"

"Yes. See?" He opened the window a crack and all they heard was him and about five other Soul Reapers screaming.

"Fight me! Fight me! Come on, bring it on!"

"Leave us alone!"

"God, Kira! Stop it!"

"Yeah, what he said!"

"Knock it off!"

"What's gotten into you?!"

"A fighting spirit, now fight me!"

Ukitake closed the window and muffled the sounds from outside. "See what I mean?"

"Mmm…" Hitsugaya went back to eating candy, only half listening.

"I wonder what could have caused him to suddenly change like this. He's never acted this way before, to my knowledge…"

Hitsugaya took a big bite out of another candy bar. "That's because it's not really Kira," he said through a mouthful. "Not the real Kira, I mean."

Ukitake turned, now giving Hitsugaya his undivided attention. "What do you mean 'not the real Kira'? Then who is that?"

He swallowed the candy and wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand. "No, no. That's not exactly what I meant. Yes, that's Kira, but not in his right state of mind."

"What do you mean?" He was completely puzzled by this.

"I mean, Kira wanted to change his personality because he thought that no one liked him as he was and that in doing so he'd become stronger as a person and a fighter. So a few days ago, he went to a hypnotist and had his personality altered. I think it brought out his feral side, don't you?"

"A what? A hypnotist? You mean that stuff really works?"

Hitsugaya pointed out the window. "Look at that and tell me it doesn't. Besides, you remember Aizen and his zanpakuto, don't you?"

"I suppose you have a point there… But why would he want to change himself for those ridiculous reasons? We respected him before for what he could do. It wasn't like he was a terrible fighter. He's a good one, but…" Ukitake scratched his head. "How do I put this..? He was just a little unsure of himself, is all. He lacks confidance. Why would he think of himself as weak? He shouldn't be so quick to change who he is. He was fine the way he was. Let others accept you for who you are. If you have to change then-"

"Then it's not worth it. Changing yourself to suit other people is hopeless. If you're not being true to yourself then who are you being true to? Don't live a lie. That's what makes you weak."

Ukitake blinked. "That's very insightful, Hitsugaya. I think you're correct in saying such a thing."

He smiled brightly at Ukitake. "I am a genius, you know!" Hitsugaya went back to eating his candy by the handfuls. "I think Kira doesn't know how much people really do care about him. That and his past. I can't imagine what it must be like to be betrayed by your own captain and be forced to do so many bad things. He must feel so messed up inside."

Ukitake leaned back aginst the windowsill. "I suppose you're right about that, too. Ah, the poor guy… I guess I never really thought about it so much. Maybe I should have. If he needed to talk to someone about this, then maybe… Oh, I don't know. I'm just rambling now."

"No, I get what you're saying." Hitsugaya took a big bite out of a taffy, chewing noisily.

Ukitake looked the little captain up and down. "Come to think of it, you've been acting kind of strange, too. Did you see that hypnotist, too?"

Shaking his head, Hitsugaya said, "Nope, I just went there to see if I could talk them out of it."

"Them?"

"Oh, yeah! Hanataro did it, too."

This was perplexing. "But why in the world would he want to do it, too?"

"I guess it's because he got tired of being picked on all the time by Squad 11 or something like that."

"Is he as violent as Kira, too?"

"No. He's a drunk now."

Ukitake raised a brow and have him a quizzical expression.

"I know. I wasn't expecting that, either." He took another bite of candy. "He's also a little pervy, too. He keeps going after Rangiku when he gets wasted."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me…"

"She makes it too easy, huh?"

"With the outfits she wears and the things she says… Oh, yeah. Even I find it hard to believe that anyone can resist her when drunk. If anything, I think that alcohol helps make men fall for her. I wouldn't know. I hardly drink as it is. I don't think I've ever been drunk, actually."

Hitsugaya licked his fingers and lips. He was bored and full of sugar.

This wasn't going to be pretty…

He jumped over to the window were Ukitake was sitting and tugged on his sleeve. "Do you want to do something?"

"Such as?"

Hitsugaya gave him a bright smile. "Wanna play with me? We can have some real fun around here!"

Ukitake stared at him. Was Hitsugaya always this playful? Maybe the sugar had something to do with it. Come to think of it, he was a lot like this a few days ago when he was in here with Yachiru. "I… I don't know. I wouldn't know what to play. Nothing too exerting, I hope. I can't do that much because of-"

"I know. And that's ok!" Hitsugaya began to jump and bounce around the room. "I just feel like running all of a sudden. I've got all this energy!" He bounced from here to there in a matter of seconds and then out the door of the office, dragging the candy bag behind him.

Ukitake just watched from the safety of his spot at the window. "I'm really starting to think that something is wrong…"

~*~*~

Rangiku looked back to the couch to make sure that Hanataro was still doing ok. "Captain is he still sleeping?" No answer. "Captain?"

All she could hear were Hanataro's snores. She got up and searched the room for any signs of her captain. He was nowhere to be found. Not only that, but the door was also ajar. He must have left the room while she was distracted.

"Oh, no…"

~*~*~

Hitsugaya bounced through the halls looking for someone to play with. He was so bored but, thanks to the candy, full of engry. He needed to burn off this sugar rush and fast. He wanted to play. He ran down the hall, cartwheeled and jumped, all the while looking for something or someone to play with.

Coming to a stop to catch his breath, Hitsugaya looked up and spotted an office on his left. The door was open a crack.

Perfect…

Byakuya shuffled through some papers and set them off to the side. He was almost done filing. About time, too. He skipped breakfast this morning and was starting to get really hungry. All he could think about now was getting himself an early lunch. He rubbed his head and picked up another stack and started filing through it. This was going to be a long morning.

He felt something brush up against his leg and he flinched. What in the world was that?! He instinctively grabbed his zanpaktou and…

"HI!"

Byakuya's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but otherwise maintained his composure. He didn't expect Hitsugaya to pop up behind his chair like that.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Byakuya wasn't sure how to respond to this. "What is it?" That seemed good enough for now.

"Hi! What'cha doin'?" he asked cheerfully.

A little too cheerful for him.

Byakuya just stared at him without a word.

"Wanna play with me?!" Hitsugaya said rather loudly.

Wait, did he just say 'play'?

"What did you just say?"

"Wanna play with me?" he repeated with the same bright smile.

The captain continued to stare at him. This was very strange.

Impatiant, Hitsugaya proceeded to start his own game by tugging on Byakuya's sleeves. When the captain remained still as stone, Hitsugaya then started to play with his long dark hair.

"Kindly stop that, if you please…" He was getting iritated now.

"Come on! Play with me, please?!" Hitsugaya was whining now.

"Hitsugaya, please…"

He wasn't listening. Hitsugaya then climbed onto Byakuya's lap and sat down, bouncing on his legs. "Play! Play! Play!" he chanted loudly.

Byakuya's eye twitched. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Play! Play! Play!"

Byakuya then did the mature thing. He picked up Hitsugaya and set him down on the floor and returned to his work. But that didn't stop the white-haired captain. He jumped onto Byakuya's shoulders, pushing his body forward resulting in Byakuya slamming face first into the desktop. He stuggled up and shot Hitsugaya a look. "Do you mind?!" His voice was getting somewhat loud, though not by much.

Hitsugaya rocked back and forth on his shoulders, still chanting the word 'play' over and over again in a loud voice.

There was a knock at the door. "Captain, I have-" Renji stopped in the middle of the room. "What the hell is going on?" He stared at the scene before him. He didn't expect to see Hitsugaya riding his captain's shoulders when he walked in.

Byakuya's eye twitched again. "Get him off me," he growled softly. His soft growls proved to be more effective than his loud ones. Renji rushed over and took Hitsugaya off his back. Byakuya fixed himself and let out a soft sigh. "Thank you."

Renji stuggled with the thrashing captain in his arms. He held Hitsugaya at arm's length and turned his head away with a snarl. "Argh! What's gotten into you, Hitsugaya?!"

"A lot of sugar! Want some?" He handed Renji the half empty bag of sweets.

He frowned at them. "I'm good." A light bulb went off in his head. "Hey, wait a minute. I thought you hated sweets..?"

Hitsugaya shook his head with a wide smile. "Nuh-uh! I love candy! It's awesome!"

"What's Rangiku doing? Why don't you bother her?"

"Can't. She's doing paperwork."

Renji's jaw dropped. "She's doing what?!"

"Paperwork."

There was a moment when he couldn't hear anything due to his ears going into shook after hearing the words 'Rangiku' and 'paperwork' in the same sentence without the words 'not doing' between them. "So let me get this straight…" Renji set Hitsugaya down on the ground. "You're here eating half your weight in candy and getting hyper, Kira's going on a rampage, and now Rangiku's doing paperwork?"

Hitsugaya nodded.

"Has everyone lost it?!"

"Not only that, but no one has seen Hanataro in a few days," Byakuya added while stacking papers.

"Nope!" Hitsugaya chirped. "He's in my office right now."

"What's he doing in there?" Renji asked. Just how bad could the answer be?

"He's getting over a hangover. He got drunk last night."

Renji knew he shouldn't have asked. "Wait… Now Hanataro's a drunk?"

"It's the end of the world as we know it," Byakuya said calmly, shuffling through more papers.

Hitsugaya giggled, thinking his fellow captain just made a funny joke. The other men stared at him. As far as they knew, Hitsugaya was incapable of giggling. This was very strange.

Renji put a hand to his head as if checking to see if he had a fever. "I gotta lie down… This is all just too weird for me…" He staggered over to a couch by the wall. Hitsugaya followed him and jumped on his lap the second he sat down. Renji groaned. "What now?!"

"Play with me!"

"You gotta be kiddin'…"

"Please?" He hugged Renji as an incentive. "Please, please, please?"

"Uh…" Renji leaned away from him as if he were going to catch some fatal disease Hitsugaya contracted. "Uh… don't take this the wrong way or anything but… What the hell's up with you?"

Hitsugaya frowned. "Nothing! I just had a lot of sugar and want to play to burn off the rush I'm on. That's all."

"Then why don't you train or something. Why play?"

"Because it's fun!" Hitsugaya hugged Renji again. "I like playing! It's loads of fun! You should try it sometime. You'll see."

Renji pried Hitsgaya's fingers from his kimono and tried to push him off is lap. "I didn't think you were that type of guy, you know… Playing and all…"

"It's funny… I never really played before, either. No one but Momo and Granny did in my old village. We didn't play much but still… Can't I make up for lost time?"

"But now of all times? Why so suddenly like this? You never made an attempt before now."

He shrugged. "Then again, I've never felt so free before. I don't care how people see me anymore. I just want to have fun now. I'm all happy and cheerful… What's wrong with that? It's a nice feeling. You should try it sometime, Mr. Grumpypants." He poked the tip of Renji's nose playfully.

Renji gawked at him and shied away from him. "Yeah… That's not creepy at all…"

"Play now?"

"Uh…" He looked to Byakuya for help. But he did nothing. Byakuya kept his eyes down at the desk. Renji moaned. "Later, Hitsugaya, ok?"

Hitsugaya pouted. "But… Oh, fine…" He got up and walked to the other side of there room. He started to circle around Byakuya's desk, brushing against his chair very time he passed.

Byakuya lowered the papers. "Do you mind?"

Hitsugaya stopped and stood very still.

Byakuya nodded and turned back around.

Hitsugaya stepped up real close behind the captain and started to purposely breathe down his neck. He exhaled loudly and deeply three inches from his ear. Renji stifled his snickers.

"Will you please..?"

"Sorry." Hitsugaya then started to make popping noises with his mouth. "Pop. Pop. Pop."

"Enough!"

"But-"

"Fight me, Tattoo-boy!" Kira came crshing throught the door and into the office, pointing his sword at Renji. "Get up and fight!"

Renji moaned loudly. "Argh! Not this again!" He jumped off the couch just as the blade came swinging down where he had been moments before.

"Fight! Fight me, Renji! Fight!" Kira chased after him.

"Captain! Do something about him, please!" Renji no longer knew what to do anymore. Yes, he would fight him and take him down with no problem (so he thought), but he had no idea what state of mind Kira was in anymore. He wanted help restraining him, not fighting him. "Please, sir! Help me out here! Do something!"

And he did. Byakuya stood, picked up Hitsugaya by the collar, walked over to the two Soul Reapers on the floor, kicked them both out into the hall, tossed Hitsugaya after them and slammed the door shut behind them. With a satisfied nod, he turned back to his desk to work in peace. _Let them duke it out as they please as long as it's far away from me… I just can't be bothered with their ridiculous antics anymore. _He sat down and went back to work in his empty office.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

Knock. Knock.

"Go away!"

"It's me. Ukitake."

"Oh. Then come in…"

Ukitake opened the door and stepped into the office. Byakuya looked very stressed out behind his desk; Ukitake taking note of how his hands were positioned on his forehead as if trying to surpress a very painful headache. All in all, he looked very upset. "Are you alright?" he asked, closing the door.

Byakuya frowned with a soft sigh. "Stressed and troubled."

"Oh?"

He sat up to look upon the other captain. "It's the usual… However, there is one new trouble I've never had before."

"Oh? What's that?"

"It's regarding Captain Hitsugaya. He was in here before."

"What about?"

"A game. He wanted to play some childish game for some odd reason. I'm still trying to figure it out…" He leaned back in his chair. "He wasn't himself. He was much more hyper and, dare I say, childish… But that couldn't be. I mean, Hitsugaya despises anything to do with the word 'childish'. Actually acting childish goes against everything he's about. It's very strange…"

Ukitake felt a little guilty. "Um, I believe I'm at fault here. I'm the one who gave him sweets. That may have resulted in his hyperactivity. I apologize if I caused any trouble."

"No, no, it's fine." Byakuya folded his arms. "It still bothers me, though… Asking to play? That's so unlike him. Not just him, though. Kira as well. He came barging in here swinging his blade around like a mad man, challenging Renji to a fight."

"And?"

"I threw them out."

"The window?"

"No, the door."

Ukitake chuckled. "Oh, that's good. I remember last time Kira was around, you threatened to throw him out the highest window. Good thing you didn't."

"I was tempted, but they were all too heavy to throw out at once… Without breaking anything, anyway. The door was closer, so I… you know."

"Hm." Ukitake glanced out the window. "Nice day, hmm?"

"Hmph. I haven't had a chance to notice…" Byakuya glanced down at his desk in thought. "I just don't understand it. Why would they be acting like this? It doesn't make any sense… It's as if they're personalities have been flipped upside-down," he muttered more to himself than to the only other person in the room. "It bothers me, and I don't know why. It just does. I hate not knowing…"

Ukitake then remembered what Hitsugaya had said before in his office. They had their personalities altered.

"Yes?"

Ukitake looked up with a start. Had he just said something out loud without realizing it? "Huh? What?"

"You looked like you were going to say something. What was it?"

"Uh…" He swallowed. "Well, I'm not sure. It's just… I was thinking of something Hitsugaya had told me in the office a little while ago."

"About what, exactly?"

"About what's been happening around here. A possible reason for why everyone's been acting so strange lately."

Byakuya sat upright in his chair, giving Ukitake his undivided attention. "Just what would that be?"

"Well, Hitsugaya informed me that Kira and Hanataro were fed up with how people treated them and who they were as a person and sought help from a hypnotist."

"A what-notist?"

"A hypnotist. You know, they wave a watch in your face and-"

"I know what they do. I'm just surprised is all. I never thought that that stuff would actually work. Then again, Kira and Hanataro are pretty simple-minded… I suppose it could work on them, being as suggestible as they are."

_Now I know what they were talking about. After a while, I would get sick of hearing these words myself… Now I understand why they did it_, Ukitake thought, listening to how blunt Byakuya was being. "Basically, they went to see this hynotist and had their personalities altered. That's why they are acting this way."

"Hitsugaya, too?"

"No. He told me that he didn't do it."

"Then why is he acting so out of character like those two idiots?"

"I'm not sure… However, Hitsugaya did mention that he had followed after them to try to talk them out of it."

"You don't suppose that he could have gotten a dose of the hypnosis without realizing it, do you?"

"I couldn't say."

Byakuya tried to think. It was a possibility, and a good one at that. "The power of suggestion is very strong, especially on those with a weak will. They're more easily influenced."

"But Hitsugaya has a very strong will and isn't very suggestable. Do you really think he can be that easily influenced?"

"By something as trivial as hypnosis? Sure. He may try to act mature, but he's still a child. He has a simple mind."

"But he is a genius," Ukitake pointed out.

"True, but that doesn't prove anything. His 'child' mind must allow him to be easily overpowered by something like this. Can't be helped, so I don't blame him. He can't help being a child, high intellect or not."

"But I've heard that people of a higher intelligence are more easily influenced by hypnosis. They're a lot easier to hypnotize."

Byakuya dismissed this. "For all we know, that could be a myth. After all, if that were true, why did Hanataro get himself hypnotized?"

"I think that he's a lot more intelligent than you give him credit for…"

"Nontheless…"

Ukitake stood silently for a moment before another thought popped into his head. "You don't suppose Rangiku is aware of this, do you? I mean, I suspect she is involved somehow, but…"

"Ukitake, why don't you find Unohana and see if we can put a stop to all this?"

Did he even hear him? "Wait, why do you want me to fetch Unohana?"

"She knows her medicine, doesn't she? Perhaps she could find a way to cure them."

"I don't think that's how it works…"

"Maybe not, but I'm not sure what else to do about it. And I'm not expecting her to give them medicine for it or anything like that. I was merely suggesting that perhaps she'd know what to do about it. She may understand some parts of the mind and be able to cure them somehow. That's all I'm saying. I'm no fool."

"I'm aware of that and I didn't think you were. And I would see if I could find her if she hadn't disappeared."

Byakuya looked up, surprised. "What?"

"She just told the rest of her squad that she had some important businees to take care of and to leave her alone until she finished. Until then, there are to be no disterbances, no interuptions and no one is to go looking for her, unless it's a dire emergency. That's what I've heard."

The captain sighed heavily. "Great… What's she up to now?"

~*~*~

"Alright! Let's run that drill again!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Soi Fon watched over her squad as they ran drills for future missions. The Stealth Force was very powerful, but she knew that there was always room for improvement. She stood atop a nearby building overseeing them in action. So far, so good. They were fast learners considering this was a new drill she had just come up with this morning. This was turning out well.

That is, until a head of white spikey hair popped up on the roof behind to her. It was little Hitsugaya, still looking for a playmate. Kira and Renji were no fun. All they ended up doing was punching each other in the face and rolling down a flight of stairs. As far as he knew, those two were still going at it. No fun at all...

But this looked like fun. All these people running around… it looked like they were playing tag. Hitsugaya spotted Soi Fon by the edge of the roof. Why wasn't she playing, too? Hitsugaya moved closer.

"Alright, very good!" she called out to her men. "B Team, you're left side's open! Cover it! If this were a real mission, you'd be open for attack!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

She pointed to another group. "A Team! Switch location with D Team now! Don't keep me waiting!"

"Yes, ma'am!" They did as they were told in excellent time.

She nodded approvingly. "Very nice! Keep it up!"

Hitsugaya blinked, his curiosity kicking in. Her hair… so long. They looked like ropes. He cracked a smile. _Her piggy-tails look like ropes!_ He moved closer and reached out for one of her long braids. His fingers wrapped around one of her braids and gave it a small tug.

"Oh!" She spun around. "Oh, Captain Hitsugaya… You startled me."

He smiled at her. "Sorry." He went back to playing with her hair. He gave it a gentle tug and started to whip it around like a jump rope.

She couldn't help but wonder why he was doing this to her hair. It was getting a little annoying. "Um, why are you playing with my hair?"

Hitsugaya shrugged and continued to play with it. "I dunno… I'm bored and this is kind of fun. Hey, I bet I could braid this real nice for you."

"Uh, no thanks." She gently tried to pull her hair from his hand, but he held it tightly. He didn't want to let go just yet. "Um, could you please..?"

"Hmm?"

She gave her hair another tug. "Please let go?"

"Why?"

"I don't want my hair being played with."

Reluctantly, he let go of her hair. But he still wanted to play with something. "Soi Fon?"

"Yes?"

"Are you almost done with what you're doing here?"

"Why, is there a problem?"

He shook his head. "No. But I'm bored and want to do something."

"Well, I-"

"Captain!" One of her men called up to her on the roof. "Is there a problem?"

"I- No. Sorry. Why don't we try to run that drill again one more time. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Yes, ma'am!"

She turned back to Hitsugaya. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this… whatever it is that you're doing. We really have to run these drills."

Hitsugaya pouted disappointedly. "Oh… Ok, I guess… Later maybe?"

"Uh, sure…" She turned away. Just as he was getting ready to leave, she turned back around. "Are… are you feeling ok, Hitsugaya?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Yes, I feel fine."

"Ok, if you're sure…" She walked over to the edge of the roof to command her squad, but Hitsugaya grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "What?"

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to do anything with me?" He gave her his puppy eyes.

_Oh, that's so cute! I had no idea he could do that, he's so bitter all the time. He looks so young and innocent. _Soi Fon had to mentally slap herself to keep from being sucked in by his cuteness. "I- I'm sure."

He frowned and released her hand. "Oh… Ok." With a sigh, he got up and walked away, in hopes of finding someone else to play with.

~*~*~

"What the hell are you doing?"

Yumichika spun around. "Nothing!"

"You look like you're doing something. Out with it."

"I told you, Ikkaku. I'm not doing anything!" he said while clutching a bag of sweets to his chest.

"You got those for that shrimp, didn't you?"

"N-no! Not at all!"

Ikkaku growled. "I don't believe you! The guy gives you puppy eyes and you go to pieces!"

"I just want to see if he'll do it again so I can take a picture of it! Is that so wrong?" Yumichika was hunched over, leaving a long trail of candy leading from outside to the point they were standing at now. He placed another piece of candy down and another one, taking a step back as he did, keeping the candies a somewhat equal distance apart.

"I think you're an idiot…"

"I know what you think! But I also think that what he did was not only unbelievably cute, but also so out of character for him. Besides, you wanted to ask him something, didn't you?"

Ikkaku drummed his fingers. "Mm… I guess you have a point there…"

~*~*~

Hitsugaya crouched down and picked up another piece of candy. "Oh! Another one!" He popped it into his mouth with a giggle. "And another!" He bounced over to that one next. "Wow! There's like a whole trail of them!"

The trail led up the stairs and down another hallway. He dropped to his hands and knees, crawling after them. He didn't even bother putting them into his candy bag. He just wanted to eat them as long as they were out like this. He had even gotten into a good steady rhythm in doing so. Step, stop, pick up candy, chew, step and so on. Every step he took promised him another piece of candy. He crawled around a corner to follow the trail, but it had ended. Instead in their place was a smiling Soul Reaper.

"Yumichika?"

He smiled and held up a large bag of sweets. "Hi! Want some of this?"

Hitsugaya nodded and reached out for the bag.

But Yumichika pulled it back, shaking his head. "Uh-uh-uh… First you have to give me a reason to give it to you."

Puzzled, Hitsugaya cocked his head to the side. "A reason? Like what?"

Yumichika smiled. That look was pretty cute, but he wanted more from the little captain. "The thing is, I only give candy to really cute captains." He gave Hitsugaya a wink.

He understood. "So you want me to be cute?"

"That's the dumb idea…" Ikkaku groaned.

"Oh! Ok. I can do that." He mustered up his cuteness and lifted his head, showing Yumichika his big twinkling eyes and adorable smile. He raised his shoulders and pushed them forward to help make his cute face stand out.

Yumichika nearly fell over from all the cuteness. "Aw! Oh, wow! Look how cute that is! Can you believe this, Ikkaku? I had no idea he could be this cute! And this is just with his face alone! How cute is he?!"

"Not very…" Ikkaku muttered.

Yumichika reached into his kimono and pulled out a camera. "Ok, now hold still…"

Click! The camera flashed and Hitsugaya was temporarily blinded by the light. He blinked away the blue and green spots from his eyes and reached out for the candy. "Please?"

"Here you go!" Yumichika handed over the candy and Hitsugaya shoved it into his mouth. "Now how about another cute face for the camera and I'll give you another piece of candy?"

Of course, Hitsugaya agreed. He grinned from ear to ear and gave Yumichika an adorable giggle like a happy toddler.

This time, Yumichika nearly dropped the camera. "AWW! The cuteness never stops!" He took another picture.

"For God's sake!" Ikkaku pushed Yumichika out of the way and got into Hitsugaya's face. "Alright! I know for a fact that you would never reduce yourself to this. Now tell me what the hell is going on! Did Rangiku slip you a little something into your tea or what?"

He was puzzled. "Slipped me something? No. I just want candy. If I be cute, Yumichika will give me some. That's all."

"But you've been acting really weird!"

"What do you expect? I've had a lot of candy to eat. I'm gonna be a little hyper because of all that sugar."

"A little?"

Suddenly without warning, Hitsugaya jumped into Ikkaku's lap and bounced up and down. He pulled on Ikkaku's body and rocked from side to side. "Come on! Play with me!"

There was another click and a flash of light as Yumichika took yet another snapshot of the captain. "Isn't he the cutest?"

"Hell, no! He's a pain in the butt!" Ikkaku snapped while trying to push the captain away. "Get him off me!"

But Yumichika only giggled. "Aw, isn't that sweet? He likes you!"

"Shut up!"

Hitsugaya bounced and jumped and rocked around. He had all this energy and nowhere to put it, so he had to burn it off in play. Too bad no one would play with him. So he had to make them. He danced around Ikkaku and jumped on him. But this wasn't putting Ikkaku in a playful mood. He just found it annoying and creepy. Hitsigaya jumped on Ikkaku's back and gave him a big bear hug from behind, giggling in his ear.

"I can't take this guy anymore!" Ikkaku spun around in circles trying to throw the captain off. He spun faster and fast then came to a sudden hult. He grabbed Hitsugaya around the middle and pried him off and held him at arm's length in front of his face. "Ah-ha! Gotcha!"

Yumichika pouted. "Aw, did you have to? I was just about to make him pose for another picture."

"Stop whining! I don't see how you can find him so cute. He's a pain in the ass!"

Hitsugaya giggled and patted Ikkaku's bald head. "You know, you've got all this space up here… Why not draw a nice pretty picture? Maybe a cat or something."

His eye twitched. "Are you saying that you want to draw on my head?!"

Hitsugaya shrugged. "Well, you've got plenty of space seeing as you're bald and all…"

"What did you just call me?!" Ikkaku brought him closer to his face and shook him.

"Ah-ah..! Temper, temper, Ikkaku…" Yumichika wagged his finger in his face. "Really… Must you be so rough with him? He meant no harm by it. After all, you are… lacking hair…"

Ikkaku's face burned red with rage. "Well, at least I don't take forever in the bathroom making sure there's not a hair out of place before we leave the room! You took an hour in there this morning!"

"But I can't be seen in public looking like I have a rat's nest for a head! I have to look good!"

"Good?! You're such a pretty-boy! You are obsessed about your looks! In the middle of a fight, you ask me if your hair looks ok!"

"Well, at least I _have_ it!"

"But in the middle of a fight?! God! And you always judge people on their looks as well! The other day you didn't remember that new recruit because he wasn't beautiful enough for you!" Ikkaku shook Hitsugaya with every word, anger getting the best of him.

That's when it happened. A loud sickly moan interrupted their fight.

Yumichika looked up. "Are you alright, little guy? You're looking a little green around the gills, if you know what I mean."

Hitsugaya held his stomach. "I don't feel so good…"

"What's the matter with you?"

"Ohh..! My tummy hurts..!"

Yumichika looked concerned. "Oh… You probably ate too much candy and ran around too much too fast…" Then he glared at his friend. "Are _you_ were shaking him!"

Ikkaku growled. "Not much! I just went like this!" He shook Hitsugaya again.

His stomach gurgled and his face turned green. He felt awful. His stomach was hurting and bubbling, his head was hurting and felt dizzy. And on top of all this, he was starting to feel something raise up from his stomach and into the back of his throat. It tasted awful.

Ikkaku then did the worst thing he could do at that moment. He brought Hitsugaya closer and gave his body one final shake. "Hey, are you alright? Well? Talk to me. Open your mouth."

And he did. He opened his mouth and threw up all over Ikkaku. He spewed right in his face. Yumichika jumped back.

"Ah, gross!"

"Ugh… Tell me about it…" Hitsugaya moaned sickly. "I toldja I didn't feel good…"

"Are you alright, Ikkaku?"

He wasn't moving a muscle. He remained frozen in place as the vomit dribbled down his face.

"Ikkaku?"

He started to mutter something tight-lipped.

"What's that?"

He refused to open his mouth to speak for obvious reasons. But now Yumichika understood what he was trying to say: 'get him the hell out of my arms and as far away from me as possible before I throttle him'. Yumichika then removed Hitsugaya from Ikkaku's grateful arms and set him down on the ground a safe distance away from him.

"Well, that certainly was pleasant, wasn't it?" he asked jokingly.

Ikkaku let out a throaty roar, still not moving from the position he was in.

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Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

"Sorry, I haven't seen him lately."

"No, sorry."

"Not today, no."

That's all she kept hearing whenever she asked if anyone had seen Hitsugaya. That is, until Rangiku asked Soi Fon.

"Yes, I saw him. But that was at least a half hour ago."

"But did you happen to see which way he went?"

Soi Fon shook her head. "No, sorry. Now if you please, we're trying to run a few drills before we're sent out again."

"Right , sorry. Thanks anyway." Rangiku turned and hurried off to continue her screach for her captain.

Soi Fon turned back around and went back to work. So far, with all these interuptions, they hadn't made it through one full drill yet.

Rangiku ran back into the building. There was no telling how much trouble Hitsugaya could get himself into in this state. Worst of all, she had to keep his condition a secret from everyone, including him. He still had no idea he was under a hypnotic spell. She had to find him fast.

"Argh! That little anckle-biter! I hate him! I can't believe you find him cute!"

"Oh, come now…You're only saying that because he threw up on you."

"You'd feel the same way if he did it to you!"

"Perhaps…"

Rangiku turned the corner and spotted Ikkaku and Yumichika coming her way. "Have you two seen Hitsugaya?" she asked breathlessly.

"Seen him?! Look at me!" Ikkaku gestured to his torso. "The little jerk threw up on me!"

Yumichika chuckled. "Yeah, he just spent the last ten minutes with his head in the sink trying to wash it off."

"And I still reek like vomit!"

"You saw him?! He was here?! Where is he now?!"

"Calm down, wouldja?" Ikkaku growled. "He's fine. We left him back at the office." He sniffed himself. "God, I smell like the inside of his stomach!"

"His office?"

"Yeah."

"Is he still there?"

"He should be. We just dropped him off a couple minutes ago."

Rangiku pushed passed them and back to the office. She ran as fast as she could and brust through the door. "Captain? Captain, are you in here?"

There was no answer. She moved into the room, closing the door. Hanataro was still passed out on the couch. The floor was still litered with toys scattered about. And there were a couple of candy sacks laying about the room.

"Captain?"

"Ohhhh..!"

She heard the moan come from somewhere nearby. She looked around and spotted a pair of legs sticking out from behind the couch. She hurried over and found Hitsugaya laying flat on his back, moaning painfully.

"Oh, Captain..! Are you alright?" She bent down to help him sit up.

"My tummy hurts..!" he whined.

She looked at the half eaten candy sacks around the room. "It's no wonder. You must have eaten half your weight in candy."

"Ikkaku also spun me around really fast and shook me… I was also bouncing and running around, too."

"That must've done it."

He doubled over in pain, holding his stomach. In a flash, Rangiku handed him a small trash can to throw up in if needed.

This wasn't good. She needed to settle his stomach somehow. But she wasn't a doctor. She didn't know what to do. But there was one person in the room who did know a lot about medicine. She moved over to the couch and gave Hanataro a shake.

"Hey… Hey, come on, wake up. Wake up, Hanataro."

He moaned and turned away.

"Wake up!" She shook him again.

He turned his back to her and tried to bury his face between the couch cusions. "Go 'way!"

"I need your help. Now wake up!"

"Ow!" He covered his ears. "Not so freakin' loud! My head is killing me!"

Rangiku gave him a shove. "Now! I need you up now! Hitsugaya's sick! I need you to give him some medicine!"

He slapped her hands away and buried his face in the couch cushions. "Go away! What did I just say about your voice?"

But she wouldn't leave him alone until she got what she wanted. "You know medicine, give him something!"

Hanataro turned and stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "What makes you think I'm in any state to do anything like that right now?"

"You have your bag, don't you? Just tell me what to do."

"Ha! I didn't bring my bag with me. I left it back home on the floor somewhere…"

"… What?!"

He covered his ears again. "Not so freakin' loud, woman! Geez!"

_Great, now what do I do? I have to help settle his stomach somehow_…

There was a knock at the door and it cracked open. Unohana stuck her head into the room. "I'm so sorry to intrude, but I just came to tell you that everything's taken care of."

Rangiku could have kiss her! What luck! Of all people to walk in at this moment, it had to be Unohana. This was wonderful! She jumped up and pulled her into the room. "Oh, thank God, you're here!"

"Uh… Ok. What seems to be the trouble here?"

Rangiku dragged her over to Hitsugaya who was still sitting on the floor with his head in the trash can. "It's him. He ate too much candy, moved around too much and is throwing up now. What do I do? Can you give him something to settle his stomach?"

Unohana sat down on the floor next to him and felt his forehead for any sign of temperature. "Hmm… It seems to only be an upset stomach, nothing else. That's good. I know just the thing for it, too." Luckily, she kept a few medicines on her at all times for just such a thing. She reached into her robes and pulled out a small bottle of pink liquid. She uncorked it and held it out for him to take. "Here you are, Captain. Drink this."

Hitsugaya lifted his head. He took one look at the bottle and whined, sticking his head back into the trash can. That pink color reminded him of cotton candy, and he was in no mood to even look at anything resembling candy. "No! I don't want it! Please..!"

This was so aggravating. He was causing her so much trouble these past few days. Rangiku had just about enough. Now that they had something that would help him, he refused to take it! This was ridiculous! "Captain, please. We're trying to help you. You have to drink it to get better."

"No..!" he whined loudly.

Hanataro bellowed from the couch, "Argh! Shut up! My head..!"

Unohana looked at Rangiku.

"Hangover," she said simply.

"Ah. I thought so…" She turned back to Hitsugaya. "Now, we can do this one of three ways."

He glanced up at her curiously.

"One: you can take your medicine willingly like a big boy. Two: I can give it to you in a needle. Or three: I can have the Captain from Squad 11 come in here and force it down your throat himself. Which would you like?"

No contset. Hitsugaya snatched the bottle out of her hands and chugged it down.

"Good boy," Unohana smiled approvingly.

"So that's just going to settle his stomach?"

She nodded. "There are no real side effects to it. It'll just make him a little drowsy, but that's good because he needs to sleep this off. He'll be just fine."

"Now what about him?" Rangiku pointed to the couch.

"Don't worry. I'll give him something for his hangover."

~*~*~

A few minutes later, Unohana left the office to return to her normal duties. But she was stopped by two Soul Reapers. One with black hair and one with white. "May I help you, Captains?"

Ukitake and Byakuya stood in front of her.

"We'd like to speak with Captain Hitsugaya, if you please," Byakuya told her.

"I'm afraid that's not possible right now. He is resting. I'm afraid he's ill."

"Ill?"

"Ill, yes. He's sick. He's vomiting."

"I'd like to speak with him anyway."

She blocked the door with her arm. "I'm sorry, but you can't. I ordered him to get some rest. Besides, would you like him vomiting all over you, Captain?"

"I'll keep at a distance."

"He could be highly contagious. Would you be willing to risk it?"

"Yes."

"Well, not me. I have a weak immune system as it is…" Ukitake took a step back from the door. "If I get sick, it's a huge problem. The last thing I need is to start hacking up blood. I seem to lose a lot of that…"

"I'm aware of your condition, so I'll go in." Byakuya moved forward, but Unohana wasn't moving. "Please let me in."

"I cannot permite you to speak to Hitsugaya in this state."

"Fine. Then I'll speak to whoever else that's in there. Rangiku, perhaps..?"

She shook her head.

Now he was annoyed. "Very well, then how about you?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You seem to be aware of what's going on. Now please tell me, what's happened to them."

"Them who?"

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Hanataro, Kira and Hitsugaya. You know… They've been acting strange lately and we believe that you may know something about it."

"No, not at all."

He wasn't convinced. "Not at all?"

"No."

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

He didn't take his eyes off her for a second.

"Perhaps another time?" Ukitake asked to avoid another argument.

"Perhaps. But right now no one is to enter this office and Hitsugaya is to rest. So if you'll please just drop the subject until then..?" Though she said it with a smile, the two captains could practically see the flames raging behind her coupled with ominous thunder and lightning. Even smiling, she looked scary.

It was even enough to frighten Byakuya away. "Very well, another time." He politely bowed his head to her and walked away.

Ukitake bid her farwell, too, with a bow of his head. "Thank you for your time, Captain."

Still smiling, she waved them off.

Rangiku sighed from the other side of the door. That was a close one. From what she could hear, it sounded like those two suspected them of something. Did they know the truth? No, then they wouldn't be asking. Right?

Hitsugaya tugged on her sleeve trying to get her attention.

"What is it? Do you feel better?"

He nodded drowsily. "Uh-huh… But that medicine made be a little sleeply…"

"It was meant to, Captain."

He tried to situate himself in her lap for a nap.

"Captain, perhaps we should take you home to sleep, hmm?"

He nodded. "Ok…" He looked over at the couch. "But what about him?" He pointed to a passed out Hanataro on the couch.

"Unohana said that she'd be back for him later. Now we better go before we're spotted."

"Ok…"

~*~*~

It had taken her most of the day and with multiple interuptions, but it finally looked like they'd finish their drills today. Soi Fon was pleased by this. At last, they would finish. She shouted out orders to her men. "Alright, almost there! Now A Team and B Team switch positions and C Team hook left!"

They did as they were told.

"D Team, go right! Team E and G, standby! F Team go!"

They moved it position.

"Now C Team split up into two equal teams and perpare for the attack!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

She watched intensly and waited for the right moment. They were in position. She raised her hand, and…

"I said knock it off, you son of a-"

"Fight me! Fight back, you prissy!"

Renji and Kira suddenly fell from out of nowhere into the middle of their training field. After first bouncing off the roof a few feet from where Soi Fon stood, they rolled down a stair case, off another roof and landed on the field, knocking several members of the Stealth Force off their feet and through the air. They rolled over and over each other, punching and kicking each other.

When one member of the Stealth Force tried to break them up, Kira bit him. When another came to his aid, Renji punched him and told him to stay out of it.

Soi Fon stomped her foot on the roof. "Forget it!" she screamed and stormed off. "I give up!"

~*~*~

Despite being cute and adorable, Hitsugaya was also a lot of trouble and a big pain. He was always running off and doing something to get himself into trouble, he was very shy at times and clingy. He refused to do paperwork and got himself sugar high and, as an added bonus, he had finally eaten himself sick and threw up. She was trying to keep all this a secret from everyone so that no one would know the truth and tell him about it once he got back to normal, resulting in a Hitsugaya-embarrassment-and-fury-induced -tantrum. That's the last thing anybody needed right now. As cute as he was, he was very exhausting.

Right now, he was very clingy. After she had taken him home to sleep, Hitsugaya had refused to let her out of his sight. He kept within two feet of her at all times and would either hug her around the middle or hold her hand. He needed comfort and lots of it. She tried to tuck him into bed, but he refused to let go of her hand. So she had no choice but to climb into bed with him and let him snuggle. He latched onto her and rested his head on her chest.

It looked like she wasn't going anywhere for a while. But this gave her some time to think while she sat there on the bed. She looked at the stuffed animals scattered around the room. Most were laying on the floor, while others were still resting on his bed or wedged between a dresser. In time they had to be returned to Yachiru. Once Hitsugaya was back to normal, of course. There's no way he'd part with them now.

So far, even though he was cute and all, he was still turning out to be a real pain. All she had been doing so far was running around the Soul Society trying to find him, coming to his rescue, finding him food to eat, staying at his side at all times or nusing him back to health. It was such a pain. Plus, he _still _wasn't doing any of the paperwork. So far she had gotten the short end of the stick when it came to this whole hypnotism thing.

She felt Hitsugaya's grip on her hand loosen. He was starting to relax. This was good. He'd be asleep in no time.

This wasn't so bad. Moments like these she liked. Sometimes she would sneak in a secret snuggle with him when he took naps on the couch. Those were rare, though. Once she was almost caught. She had lifted his head up for just a moment to place it on her lap, but he stired and woke up. Thankfully he didn't see her due to the fact that she had fallen off the couch in shock and onto the floor.

His grip went slack and slumped down onto her lap. He had fallen asleep. But just to be sure, Rangiku waited a few more minutes and then carefully tried to wedge herself out from under him. She gently set him down on the bed and tiptoed out of the room. Thanks to the medicine and all he's been through today, he should sleep through the night without waking up. This was good. Now she could sleep in her own bed again. Not only that but she didn't have dinner yet.

She slipped out the door and went to find a bite to eat.

That woman should he here any day now. And when she finally did show up, it would put an end to this nightmare.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

It happened just as she predicted. Hitsugaya had slept all through the night and wasn't disturbed once. She arrived at his house early that next morning to make sure he was awake. He was still asleep in his bed when she opened the door. She approached his bed and got a closer look. Actually, he was only half asleep. The moment he saw her, he sprang up in bed with a big smile on his face.

"Rangiku!" he chirped happily.

She smiled back with a chuckle. "Are you feeling better, Captain?"

"Lots better!" He kicked off the covers and flexed his muscles to her. "I feel awesome!"

She giggled at his cuteness. He was so adorable.

Within a few minutes, they were off to the office. Rather than a piggyback, they raced each other there. Of course, she let him win. That should keep him in a good mood for a while longer. They opened the door and went in.

That's when it hit her. This was the second day! The hypnotist said that she'd be there in two days. This was the second day! This meant that she should be there today! This day just kept getting better and better!

That is, until she opened her desk to celibrate. "That little rat! He completely cleaned me out of sake! Every last drop is gone!"

"That's ok," Hitsugaya said while jumping on the couch. "I told you that you couldn't have any sake in the office. I won't let you get drunk. You'll act just as stupid as Hanataro did."

It seemed like that was another thing about Hitsugaya that didn't change. He still loved watermelon, was very intelligent and didn't allow sake in the office. When you looked at it that way, Hitsugaya really wasn't all that different. Just a bit more childish and shy.

Rangiku went over to his desk to check on the paperwork. Wonderful! No new papers had come in. Which meant that the only work she had to do today was the large stack on the floor. She sat down behind his desk and got started.

She should really thank him for this. He had managed to renew her hatred for paperwork. He reminded her why she hated doing it so much in the first place! That's the one good thing she got out of doing this... And the possibility that he may not be too mad when he changed back. After all, how could he be mad at her if she had filled out all the paperwork for him? He'd be so thankful. Maybe even reward her. That was a nice thought. She'd be praised for her hard work!

"Rangiku, will you play with me?"

She looked up. "I can't right now, but I will."

He stopped jumping and sat down on the couch. "But when?"

She thought. "How about right before lunch? Then we'll have something to eat and I'll play with you for the rest of the afternoon. Sound good?"

He pouted, but liked the idea of having the whole afternoon to play with his lieutenant. So he sat on the couch and waited for her to finish working so they could play.

Minutes ticked by. Then a half hour. Hitsugaya couldn't sit still for longer than a few minutes. Four at the most. So by now, he was playing with the toys scattered around the office. But this was so boring without a playmate. Wouldn't anyone play with him?

"Psst!"

"Hm?" He looked around. Something just hissed at him.

"Psst!"

He looked at the floor, as if expecting to see a snake slithering by.

"Psst!"

He looked at the toy in his hand, wondering if it had strung a leak of some sort.

"Psst! Over here!"

"Hitsugaya, the door!"

"Hm?" He turned innocently around towards the door.

It was ajar and two heads were peeking through, looking at him. Ikkaku and Yumichika.

He smiled at them and waved.

Yumichika held up a piece of candy, but to his shock, Hitsugaya turned away grimacing. After what he had been through, he didn't want to look at another piece of candy.

So Ikkaku came up with another plan. He held up a stuffed animal. "Psst!"

Hitsugaya turned back around and his eyes lit up with wonder. It was a blue shark. Ikkaku made it wiggle and dance. Hitsugaya couldn't stand it anymore. He crawled over to the door and reached for the toy. But Ikkaku pulled it away.

"No, you have to come out here if you want it," he whispered.

Come on, what would you do in his place? Of course he complied.

Keeping low to the ground, he crawled out the door and into the hall. Once outside, Ikkaku made his move. "Gotcha!" He grabbed Hitsugaya and ran down the hall far away from the office.

Yumichika chased after them. "Now, be careful! Remember what happened last time you were too rough with him?"

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing!"

Hitsugaya continued to reach for the toy, but couldn't get close enough. Ikkaku was carrying him under one arm like a football and was holding the toy in the other hand. This was very disappointing… and uncomfortable.

They made it down another hall. Before long, passing Soul Reapers started to ask them questions; all of which were ignored of course. Ikkaku carried Hitsugaya down another hall and up a flight of stairs.

"Ikkaku, I said be careful! You almost smashed his head on that wall!"

"I saw it!"

"Give him to me, you're too rough!"

"I got it! I got it!"

A door opened and Ukitake stuck his head out into the hall. "What's all the-?"

"I said give him to me!"

"You'll only drop him!"

"No, I won't! Hand him over!"

"I got him!"

"Yeah, and you're going to give him a concussion!"

"No, I won't!"

"Give him to me, Ikkaku! You're hurting him!"

"I am not!"

Ukitake frowned and chased after them. "Hey, stop that! Put him down!"

Now it was chaos. Ikkaku was running with Hitsugaya tucked under his arm, Yumichika was chasing after him and now Uitake was chasing after both of them. It was a very strange sight to behold.

"I told you, I got him!"

"Give him to me! You're not doing it right!"

"Both of you stop this minute!"

They ran down another hall and up a staircase, down another hall, another staircase, another hall and down a long staircase. Ikkaku raced towards a bridge linking two buildings together. He was almost there when…

"Scatter… Senbonzakura."

A thousand cherry bloosoms came out of nowhere, surrounded the bridge and shattered it effortlessly. Ikkaku stopped in his tracks, his only means of escape gone. He turned around and saw Byakuya flash step into veiew.

"Now, was that really nessacary? Now what about the bridge?"

Byakuya sheathed his sword. "It'll be repaired in no time at all. Hardly anything to get worked up about."

Ukitake propped himself up against a guardrail for support while he caught his breath.

"Are you alright, sir?" Yumichika asked.

"… I… I'm f- fine…" he panted. "Just… give me… a minute… I'm not used to… running like that… It's been a while…"

"Well, look at the plus side: no blood!"

"Heh… yeah…"

"Now would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Byakuya asked, clearly in a bad mood.

"He was running off with Hitsugaya," Ukitake and Yumichika said in unison and pointed at Ikkaku.

Byakuya walked over to Ikkaku and took Hitsugaya from him and set him down on the ground. But the little captain kept reaching for something in Ikkaku's hand. It was the blue shark toy. Byakuya snatched it from the baldy and handed it to Hitsugaya, who cuddled with it immediately.

The other Soul Reapers exchanged looks. This wasn't normal.

~*~*~

"So… he's like this why?"

Ukitake shrugged. "We're still figuring that out. Right now, we suspect that he may have fallen under the same spell as Kira and Hanataro."

"And what spell would that be?"

"Hypnosis."

Ikkaku snorted. "Please. Are you serious? That stuff really works?"

"You're going to look at them and tell me it doesn't?" Ukitake pointed to Hitsugaya who was playing with his blue shark and running around the others.

"I suppose you're right…"

Yumichika folded his arms with a shake of his head. "Man… I never knew Hitsugaya was that suggestible."

"Are you sure that it was hypnosis and that he didn't just hit his head or something instead?" Ikkaku asked.

"No. He told me himself," Ukitake told them. "He said that Kira and Hanataro swapped personalities or something along those lines. They are not themselves."

"Not swapped. Flipped," Byakuya corrected. "If that were the case then Kira would be acting like Hanataro and vice versa. No, they had themselves switched up-side down. Kira, normally shy and wimpy is now an exaggerated tough guy who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'fear'. That's what happened here. It seems that the hypnosis has brought out Hitsugaya's childish side and- would someone get him away from me?!"

Hitsugaya was poking Byakuya in the ribs with the toy shark, thinking that they were playing a game. The taller captain shooed him away, but Hitsugaya kept it up. He wanted to play.

"Here, Hitsugaya. Come here…" Ukitake beckoned him like a dog. The little captain came and sat in his lap, making himself right at home.

Byakuya dusted himself off giving Hitsugaya an annoyed look. "As I was saying… He is aware of what he is doing, he's just unable to stop himself. That's how hypnosis works."

"Really? I just thought it made you act like a chicken evertime you heard a bell."

"You're mistaken, Ikkaku. That's all staged hypnotism. There is such a thing as hypnotherapy. That's when you use hypnosis to trick someone into behaving differently. I've heard about it and have seen it used once before."

"Oh?" Ukitake looked surprised. "I was under the impression that you never witnessed it before. When did you ever see it used?"

"Back while my grandfather was still around and I was ordered not to leave my studies." Byakuya paused, remembering. "It was back when I was still a student. Their was a classmate of mine in kendo class. He was very bright and had talent. But he had a strange phobia of sharp objects."

Ikkaku snorted with laughter. "Are you kidding me? So he was afraid of swords?"

"Swords, daggers, forks, pikes, pen points, spikes… Anything sharp. And it was an acute fear, too. The moment he caught sight of a real sword with a sharp blade he screamed and bolted for the doors. It was the strangest thing we had ever seen."

"So what happened? And what does this have to do with Hitsugaya?"

"I'm getting to that. Anyway, one day he didn't show up to class. My sensei told the class that he had gone to work out his fear so that he could return. A week later he showed up again. He informed me that he had sought help from a hypno-therapist and had a few private sessions with them to help work out his fear. It seemed to have worked. He no longer feared anything sharp or pointy. Whoever this theripist was, they had completely cured him of his pobia."

"So?"

"So, that means that he was hypnotized into thinking that there was no reason to fear sharp objects. That's how it works. It convinces you of something and your mind wraps around that idea. It's very simple, really."

Ikkaku scratched his head. "Are you sure that's how it works?"

Byakuya shot him a look and that was all the convincing Ikkaku needed and dropped the subject.

"Whatever happened to that guy? Who is he?"

He shrugged. "It happened so long ago. It's hard to say. He could have quit, been reassigned, killed in action... Who knows... I can't even remember his name, it was so long ago… I was a child the last time I saw him."

"Do you think that Rangiku and Unohana know? About HItsugaya, I mean," Ukitake asked. He already knew what the answer was going to be.

"Of course. Why else would they be acting like this? Rangiku obviously wants to keep all this a secert because of the way she's always rushing around trying to hide him from everyone. Unohana must know as well due to the fact that she refused to let us in to see him the other day. Of course they're aware of his condition. They're trying to keep it a secret."

"Ah! That would make sense!" Yumichika snapped his fingers.

"By the way…" Byakuya turned back to Ikkaku and Yumichika. "Just what were you two thinking? Kidnapping Hitsugaya like that? It wasn't very inconspicuous, you know."

"I wanted answers from him," Ikkaku said simply.

"So you kidnap him and run off in some random direction?"

"I wanted to get him away from everyone so there would be no distractions."

"And then what? It just sounds like another half-baked idea you had."

"It wasn't half-baked at all! It was fully-baked!"

"You never think these things through. You're always so quick to act and end up doing something foolish because you never thought ahead. Pick him up and run off… Brilliant idea…"

Hitsugaya was still quite playful. He kept nudging Ukitake with his blue shark, making it take fake bites out of him. But unlike Byakuya, he didn't mind. It made him feel almost fatherly in a way. He loved children and he was rarely around them. He decided to play along.

"Oh, come now, Mr. Shark… You're only after my chest? What about my delicious face? You don't like it?"

Hitsugaya giggled mischievously and made the shark attack Ukitake's face, nibbling his nose with its cloth teeth. It didn't hurt one bit, but Ukitake played along, putting on quite an act.

"Ahh! Oh, no! My face! Argh!"

Hitsugaya pulled the shark away and watched as Ukitake gropped for his nose.

"Ah! It's gone! My nose is gone! You ate my nose!"

Hitsugaya giggled at his playful tone.

"My nose! Give it back! Spit it out! Come on! Give it back! Grr!" Ukitake moved in close to Hitsugaya and rubbed noses with him. "My nose! My nose! How will I smell again?! How?! My nose! My beautiful nose!"

He rubbed his nose harder against Hitsugaya's face. The little captain giggled and kicked his legs wildly. This was a fun game!

"My nose! I can't smell anything! Oh, no!" Ukitake sniffed Hitsugaya's ears and face, making him shiver and squeal as his warm breath tickled him. He squirmed about laughing his head off. And Ukitake kept it up. He was having a blast as well. He was having just as much fun as Hitsugaya.

Byakuya meant to walk away, but found that he could not move. He watched the two captains playing just a few feet away. Something was holding him there, but what?

"Byakuya, why don't you join us?" Ukitake asked.

"Hmph." Byakuya turned his head. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not very fond of children and I wouldn't know how to interact with them. Besides, I have a lot of work to do."

"But what about Hitsugaya?"

"What about him? He's done fine so far. Besides, there's nothing we can do. Just leave him be. I want no part of it."

He started to walk away but Hitsugaya's giggles kept him in place. He turned and saw him and Ukitake laughing their heads off and trying to tickle each other. That was rather… cute. Now even Ikkaku and Yumichika joined in. They sat around the giggling captain and tried their luck at entertaining him.

Ikkaku took the shark and tried to make it talk by giving it a gruff voice. "Grr, I'm a shark! Grr! Give me fish to eat! Grr!"

Hitsugaya rolled around in Ukitake's lap in a giggle fit. Who knew Ikkaku's voice could sound so funny? He even got the other two laughing as well.

Byakuya stood there, transfixed by this. He had never seen Hitsugaya like this before. The normally moody, if not sometimes stoic captain reduced to a giggling child. This was a rather odd sight. Byakuya didn't know what surprised him more: the fact that Ikkaku and Yumichika were joining in and laughing with him, or that without him even realizing it, a small smile had found its way onto his face as well. Yes, the ever poker-faced Captain Byakuya was smiling in spite of himself. Hitsugaya was too cute. He just couldn't stop himself. For a moment, Byakuya took one step closer to the group, longing to join in. But that was only for an instant. As quickly as the feeling came, it was gone in a flash. Coming back to his senses, Byakuya took a couple steps back and turned away. That was a close one! He was almost sucked in by Hitsugaya's cuteness. It was starting to effect him, too. He had to get out of here before that happened again. Next time, he may not be able to resist!

"Captain, what are you still doing here? I thought you were leaving."

_Trying but he's not making it easy_… "I was just about to go. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my office." With that, he finally walked away.

Ikkaku and Yumichika stayed for a little while longer to play with the playful captain. It only lasted a few minutes because a Hell Butterfly fluttered down with a message for them. They stood up with a groan. Their captain wanted them to report to the Squad 11 training hall for some reason. They bid farwell to the two captains and hurried off.

Ukitake looked down at Hitsugaya and asked, "What is Rangiku doing right now?"

"She's doing paperwork."

"Does she know where you are?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I kinda left without her knowing."

Ukitake stood up with Hitsugaya still in his arms. "Well, we'd better get back to her before she realizes you're gone and panics."

~*~*~

Ukitake and Hitsugaya walked back to the office hand-in-hand. He knocked on the door and entered. "Rangiku…"

She jumped. "Uh! Uh, yes? What is it?"

"Looking for this?" He gave Hitsugaya a gentle push into the room.

She gasped and jumped to her feet. "Hitsugaya! Why did you run off like that? What were you thinking?"

He gave her the sad puppy eyes coupled with the convincing pout. "I'm sorry…"

She bent down and hugged him. "Aw, that's alright. Just don't run off without telling me, ok? You'll worry me."

"I'm sorry." He held up the toy shark and his smile returned. "But look what I got! Ikkaku gave it to me."

"Why?"

"I think that's how he bribed him to leave the office without telling you," Ukitake concluded.

"Oh, I see. But what are you..?"

"I brought him back." He patted Hitsugaya's head and the little captain giggled at his touch. "By the way… It must sound awfully strange to ask this, but… Do you mind if I play with him for a while more?"

Her eyes widened slightly. "Play? But-"

"You don't have to deny it or come up with an excuse. I already know. Hypnosis, right?"

She jumped with a small gasp. "But how did..?"

"I figured it out. So can I?"

"Can you..?"

"Play with him?"

"Pl- Oh! Play… Well, I…"

"Please!" Hitsugaya bounced up and down. "We were having lots of fun before! Please? I won't leave the room this time! So can I please?"

How could she say 'no'? "Oh, alright. I guess you can. Yes."

"Yay!" Hitsugaya jumped for joy and hugged Ukitake. "Come on! Let's play! Over here, hurry!" He pulled on Ukitake's arm and dragged him over to the other side of the room where all the toys were.

This was going to be so much fun!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If it's still cute… Please review!

^-^


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

It was hard enough to concentrate during the day when it came to doing paperwork. It was even harder to do it while listening to someone while they were speaking to you. In this case, it was Renji's complaints that were taking a toll on Byakuya's nerves. He hadn't shut up since he had stormed in a half hour ago. Since that then, Renji hadn't shut up about what he had been through for the past several hours. Byakuya was an intelligent guy; he could have easily figured out that he was upset the moment he walked through that door. He could also figure out what was bothering Renji if told in only a few words. The explanation would have only taken a few seconds, not 30 minutes. Renji just didn't know when to shut up! He must have been really pissed.

"And do you know what he did then?! He threw me off the roof! Threw me! So I grabbed him to keep from falling and of course we both ended up going over the edge. Soi Fon was pissed, I tell you. Pissed!"

He didn't stop there. He just kept going, pausing only a few times to take a breath. He had also been pacing the room for the passed 15 minutes. He wouldn't keep still and wouldn't shut up! Now is was annoying. Byakuya was beginning to wonder if he would have been better off staying with Hitsugaya and the others. He wondered what they were doing right now.

"Then he chased me around, hounding me like a dog! Like a mangy little dog! Then we crashed into the training grounds used for squad 13... I spent half the time dodging other Soul Reapers' attacks! One hit me right in the chest! You can still see the scorch marks from the fireball!"

Byakuya didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was normally very composed, but now he was about ready to bang his head against a wall… Or chuck Renji out the window. He had a slight headache, his thoughts were cloudy, and listening to Renji's incessant chatter was starting to make him space out a little.

"Then, you know what he did? He went and got himself a bucket and tried to attack me with that! I tell you, that guy's a nutjob! He's so-!" Renji turned and noticed his captain's eyes fluttering. "Are you listening to me, sir?"

"Huh?" Byakuya's head snapped up again.

"Were you sleeping just now?"

"Not entirely, no." He rubbed his forehead as it throbbed once again.

"Anyway…" Renji continued. "There I was last night, minding my own business, when all of a sudden Kira jumped out of nowhere and chased me down the street! I lost him in another building. But then, just as I was making my way into my bedroom, I see him spring out of my closet! My closet! In my own private room! How the hell he got in there I'm still trying to figure out! He's freaking nuts, is what he is! Nuts! A fruitcake! A… Captain?!"

Byakuya's head snapped up again. Renji couldn't help but glare at him, not just because he was in a really fowl mood, but also because he was pouring his heart out to his captain and all he was getting back were snores.

"Am I boring you?"

"Quite frankly, yes." Byakuya sat up, still rubbing his head. "Look, I've had a rough couple of days myself, ok? It's not all about you. I went to bed late last night and got up early this morning. I barely ate breakfast, I have a ton of paperwork to get done, I've had to put up with weirdos all day long, and I'm trying to get rid of this splitting headache that I got a while ago. So I don't exactly need you yapping away right now, alright?"

It was all too clear to him that he was in a very bad mood today. Renji bowed his head. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Just leave me be, alright?"

"I- uh… yes, sir." Renji bowed again and left the office to leave his captain to himself.

Byakuya let out a heavy sigh and returned to his work. A few moments later, he realized that he just couldn't concentrate. He couldn't bring himself to focus. With this headache, it was such a chore to read each paper, with all the fine print and long words. Such a hassle… He just couldn't do it. He set down the papers and sat back in his chair with another sigh.

He looked over at the couch. It would be nice to take a nap right now. No, what was he thinking? There was work to be done and it wasn't even noon yet. How could he take a nap now of all times? Then again, he had made great progress in his work. And he was awfully tired. Perhaps a half hour break wasn't too far out of the question… A half hour, an hour at most. Yes, he could manage that.

After making sure his desk was in order, he stood up and walked over to the couch on the other side of the room. He moved all the pillows to one side, took a blanket from the back of the couch and sat down. He covered his legs with the blanket and laid down, resting his head on the pillows and closing his eyes.

He tried to let go of all his stress and slip away from conscious thought. Easier said than done. He usually didn't take naps, especially not in the middle of the morning. It wasn't even noon yet! And he still had a ton of work to do. But at least he was decently ahead. He deserved a nap every once in a while. Right now, he really needed one. Just a half hour; an hour at most.

He drew the blanket higher up and over his shoulders. He rolled onto his stomach, tucking his arm under his chest and bringing his left knee up so that he was laying partly on his side. This was comfortable for him, but he still couldn't sleep. Everytime he was close to drifting off, he would come back. He let out a frustrated groan. "Ugh… I can't sleep…"

"How come?"

Byakuya's eyes shot open. He glanced down at a lump that appeared under the blanket. He noticed a head of white spiky hair and threw the blanket off the both of them. "What in the world are you doing here?!"

Hitsugaya was laying next to him on the couch. How and when he got there was a mystery to Byakuya. Hitsugaya tucked his arms up to his chest and scooted closer to the other captain's chest. "You're warm."

Byakuya's eye twitched. "Do you mind?"

Hitsugaya glanced back up at him. "What?" When he wasn't given an answer, he snuggled closer to him and drew his arms around his middle, hugging the captain.

Byakuya pushed him off the couch and pointed to the door. "Get out!"

He sat up with big puppy eyes. "Huh? But why?"

"Out!"

Hitsugaya pouted and gave him the sad puppy eyes that always worked so well. "Please, can I stay? Please?"

"No. Out."

"Then… will you play with me?"

"Play with someone else. Out."

He made his eyes a little bigger and made them sparkle just for the icing on the cake. "Please?"

Byakuya swung his legs over the side of the couch and sat up. "Now why in the world would I play with you?"

"Because you _love_ me..!" He crawled over and hugged Byakuya. He lifted his head and looked into his eyes with his big sparkly aqua ones. He even added a sweet innocent smile for effect.

It was all he could do to resist that face of his. Byakuya could literally feel his heart begin to melt. He was just so cute! He gave his head a shake and pushed him away. "N- no! I will not play with you. Go bug someone else."

Hitsugaya let go of him and sat on the floor with a tiny gasp. "You… You don't love me?"

Byaluya shuttered. "Love? Of course not! What do you take me for?"

Hitsugaya began to sniffle. "You… _hate_ me?"

He stopped. "Well… I- I didn't say that."

"You hate me!" Hitsugaya began to sniffle and cry softly, burying his face in his hands.

Byakuya started to panic. He was no good with kids! He had no idea what to do! And now Hitsugaya was starting to cry on him? What was he supposed to do? He looked around the room frantically. What to do? What to do?!

Hitsugaya's cries grew louder and so did his sniffles and whimpers.

He had to do something fast or the whole Soul Society would hear him. Byakuya came closer to Hitsugaya and knelt down at his side. He rasied his hand ever so slowly and placed it on his back, stroking him in what he hoped was a comforting way. "Uh… It's ok. Um… Hush, now." He had no idea what to say to him.

"You hate me! Go away!"

"N- no I don't."

"Yes, you do!" Hitsugaya wailed. "If you didn't, you'd play with me!"

"Shh! Shh!" Byakuya shushed him. "I don't… I don't know how to play with you. And I have a ton of work to do. I don't have time to-"

"But I saw you taking a nap! That's work?"

That was a good point. "But- but I-"

"See?! Now you're lying to me! You _do_ hate me!" He cried even louder.

"No, no! No I don't! Shh! Please be quiet!"

"If you didn't hate me, you'd play with me! You'd be nice and play with me for just a little bit! But you won't 'cause you hate me! I just wanted you to play and you yell at me, and push me, and be mean to me! You hate me! If you didn't, you'd paly with me!"

"Ok, ok! I'll play with you!"

Hitsugaya sniffled and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "R- really?"

Reluctantly, he agreed. "Yes, I will play with you. Just stop crying…"

He sniffled and nodded. "Ok. But you'll play, right?"

"Yes, but only for a little bit. Got it?"

He nodded again.

"Ok. Now, uh… Go in the hall and wait for me. I've got to get ready."

Hitsugaya stood up. "Ok, but if you're not out here in five minutes-"

"I'll be out there, ok? Just stop bugging me!"

He nodded and walked out into the hall to wait.

Byakuya banged his head on the couch cushion. "Oh, God, what have I done..?"

Outside in the hall, Hitsugaya tiptoed over to the side and high-fived Ukitake.

"Did he fall for it?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "Uh-huh. That was too easy!" he whispered, all his fake tears long gone.

"It's amazing how you can turn it on and off like that," Ukitake said shaking his head. "You're like a faucet. I'm impressed."

~*~*~

Hisagi turned down another hall carrying a large stack of papers and files. Where was Kira when you needed him? He had such a headache from doing all this work. He passed by a closed door and stopped in his tracks. He could have sworn he heard something coming from that room. It sounded like voices. He balanced the stack in his arms and pressed his ear to the door to take a listen.

"Are you quite finished yet?"

"Hehe! Nope! Just a little bit more."

"Just how much longer?"

"You'll see."

"Alright, you've had your fun. Now I really need to get back to work."

"No fair! You said you'd play with me!"

"And I did. Now let me go!"

"Nuh-uh! Not yet! I'm not done!"

There was a pause, then and growl of disguest. "Ugh! I look ridiculous!"

"Now, now, Byakuya… I think you look wonderful. At least ten years younger."

"Shut up, Ukitake! I know you're enjoying this!"

"You bet I am. Oh, Hitsugaya, you missed one."

"Where?"

"Right there. See it?"

"Oh! Ok, thanks!"

"Would you please stop this now? I thought this was what girls did while palying. A talent of theirs… Why are you doing it?"

"'Cause I know how!"

"But how do you know? That's my point."

"Girls taught me how."

"Pfft! Go figure."

"Come on, Byakuya. Don't spoil his fun."

"What I don't get is why I have to play with him. Why can't you?"

"I was."

"Then what am I doing here? Why make me come along?"

"Because we both know you want to and you walked off ealier."

"That's it?"

"And we were getting bored, it being just the two of us."

"Ukitake, I swear… Say, Hitsugaya. He has more hair than I do. Why don't you braid his?"

Hitsugaya's giggles filled the room and so did his energetic voice when he answered, "Because you look why better in braids! And the pink brings out your eyes."

Ukitake laughed.

"Shut up! It's not funny!"

"But he's right! And the ribbon is a nice touch."

That was all he could stand. Hisagi turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Byakuya nearly screamed out loud and covered his head with his arms. Ukitake turned and waved at Hisagi, a small single braid hanging down by his ear. Hitsugaya smiled and waved as well. "Hi!" he chirped.

Hisagi blinked. "Hi..? Uh… What's going on in here?"

Hitsugaya forced Byakuya to lower his arms. "We made him pretty!"

Byakuya frowned miserably and kept his eyes on the floor. His hair was covered with briads, each one ending with a tiny pink bow. He had a large pink ribbon topped off on his head. As much as he hated anyone mentioning it, it was clear that it went without saying: he looked quiet feminine.

Hisagi bit his lip and held the stack of papers and files in front of his face.

"Don't!"Byakuya warned.

Too late. Hisagi started to laugh his head off.

"I said don't!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm- I'm s- sorry..! I- Hahahaha! I j- just..! I just couldn't help it! Hahahaha!"

"You can stop anytime now…"

"Hahahaha!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh, man! Hitsugaya, where did you learn how to do that? No, wait! Captain Byakuya, what possessed you to let him do that to you in the first place?"

He narrowed his eyes at him, not saying a word. Whatever came out of his mouth would only make him laugh harder. He ripped the ribbon and bows out of his hair and threw them on the floor.

"Hey!" Hitsugaya snapped. "I wasn't done yet!"

"But I am! I've had more than enough!"

"Hey! You can't just leave!"

"Watch me! I don't even know why I agreed to this in the first place!" Byakuya made a break for the door, but Hitsugaya pushed passed him and blocked the door with his body. "Move!"

"No!" Hitsugaya blocked his exit stretching his arms out to either side as far as they would go.

Byakuya rolled his eye, picked up Hitsugaya and moved him off to the side away from the door.

"No fair!" he kicked and screamed.

"For God's sake, Toshiro, grow up!"

Hitsugaya stuck his tongue out at him.

Hisagi raised a brow at them. "What in the world..?"

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at the person standing in his way this time. "Move."

"Uh…" Hisagi stepped aside. "Um, sorry, sir."

Hitsugaya jumped up and grabbed Byakuya around the ankles. "But you promised you'd play with me!"

"I did, now get off!"

"Uh, would someone mind explaining to me what's going on here?" Hisagi asked.

"Hitsugaya accidently hypnotized himself into acting like a child," Byakuya said before anyone could stop him.

Hisagi dropped his stack on the floor. "Are you serious?!"

"Out of my way." Byakuya pushed Hisagi to one side and went out the door.

Hitsugaya got to his feet, ready to give chase. "Oh, no, you don't!" He bolted out the door after him.

Ukitake and Hisagi looked at each other. With a sigh, Ukitake stood up. "I guess we'll have to go through this all over again."

"Again?"

"Yup. It seems like someone's always chasing after Hitsugaya these past few days. Come on. We'd better find them."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

Byakuya hurried down the hall as fast as he could without running. He had to get away from that childish captain. He _hated_ children!

"Wait! Get back here, you!"

He turned just in time to see Hitsugaya running down the hall after him. Now Byakuya broke into a dead run to get away from him. But Hitsugaya was hot on his heals. He wasn't about to let his playmate run away from him! Byakuya turned shaply down another hall in order to lose him. But that effort was futile. So he began to zigzag, turning his surroundings into a maze to confuse Hitsugaya in hopes of losing him. But that didn't work either. It was as if he was two steps ahead of him.

In his desparation, Byakuya ran down another staircase as fast as he could. Hitsugaya's legs were much shorter than his so it would take him longer to climb down the stairs without tripping. It looked as if Byakuya had won… That is, until he saw Hitsugaya slidding down the handrail now neck-and-neck with him. "Hey! That's not fair!" Byakuya snapped, unaware of just how childish _he_ sounded at that moment.

"Play with me!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Play!"

"No!"

"You promised!"

"I did play with you! You braided my hair! You had the others laughing at me!"

"Only 'cause you looked so funny!"

"I played with you! My obligation is fulfilled. Now go away!"

"Never!"

They reached the end of the staircase. Hitsugaya was the first to land and tried to block Byakuya from leaving. But this time, _he_ was one step ahead of _him_. Byakuya flash stepped away leaving Hitsugaya standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Hitsugaya stomped his foot on the ground. "No fair!"

~*~*~

Byakuya breathed a huge sigh of relief once he got into the comfot of his own home. At least now he was far away from that annoying captain. Maybe now he could get some work done. There wasn't much he could do here in his manor seeing as how he left most of his work behind at his office on his desk. At least he could do some calligraphy. He was getting a little behind on that, plus he had all the tools he needed right here. So he rolled up his sleeves and got started.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

He glanced up. What in the world was making that pounding noise?

Thump. Thump. Slam!

A trapdoor flew open and Hitsugaya popped up in the middle of the floor. "Found you!"

Byakuya's jaw dropped. _Damn, he's good_… "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Looking for you."

"But what are you doing in my manor?"

"Looking for you."

"Why?"

"To play!"

He frowned. "Oh, no. I already told you, I'm not playing with you and that's final."

"Oh, come now, Byakuya."

"Yeah, have a heart."

He looked up to see Ukitake and Hisagi stepping out of yet another trapdoor in the wall shaking their heads.

"Why are you all in my manor?"

"'Cause it's big and fun! Just like Yachiru said it was!" Hitsugaya chirpped happily.

"He's right, you know," Ukitake added.

Byakuya turned. "You find my manor fun?"

"Well, I was going to agree with the 'big' description, but yes."

"My manor isn't some playground! Now get out!"

Hitsugaya started to sniffle and his lower lip trembled. "You yelled at me..!" Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes.

"Oh, not this again." Byakuya rubbed his head with his hands. This kid was such a pain!

Hitsugaya sniffled again and gave him the puppy eyes. But this time, it wasn't going to work. Byakuya mustered up all his strength to put up a resistance against that adorable face of his.

"Aw, come on, Captain…" Hisagi walked over and patted Hitsugaya's head. "The poor little guy just wants to play with you. He likes you. Come on, one quick game?"

"I already did," he hissed through his teeth.

"Then do it again."

Byakuya had fire in his eyes now. "No!"

"Jeez, you don't have to snarl at me."

"Byakuya, what were you painting?" Hitsugaya asked.

"I wasn't painting. I was doing cal-" His eyes widened noticing that Hitsugaya had taken his calligraphy brush and covered his scroll with all sorts of doodles. "Hey! Knock that off!"He pushed Hitsugaya away, snatched the brush from his hand and pulled the paper out from under him.

Hitsugaya's eyes were full of tears again.

"Don't even think about it. I'm wise to your trick. Those tears won't work on me anymore."

Hitsugaya whined sticking out his lower lip and sniffled.

"Don't…"

He sniffled again and a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Ugh..!" Byakuya turned away. "Little brat..!"

He started to cry softly and the two other Soul Reapers came rushing to his side.

"Oh, you poor thing..!"

"How mean of him to decline like that..!"

Byakuya rolled his eyes. "He's faking!" But when Hitsugaya lifted his head showing him the tears, Byakuya's heart melted. He's too good! "Oh, alright! Alright! I'll play with you! But no more hair braiding!"

"Yay!" Hitsugaya jumped up and down, instantly cheered up.

That was fast…

~*~*~

They all went back to Ukitake's office and sat on the floor. Hitsugaya was still trying to decide on a game since Byakuya was turning down all his ideas. He didn't want to play hide-and-seek, tag or anything fun! He was such a stick in the mud.

Hisagi leaned over to Ukitake while they argued it out. "Uh, so anyway… What exactly happened to Hitsugaya?"

"Just what we said. He got himself accidently hypnotized."

"Yes, but how? And why? And what do you mean by accidently hypnotized?"

"You don't know what hypnosis is?"

Hisagi shook his head. "No, of course I do. I meant the whole 'accidently' concept. How did he manage that?"

Ukitake shrugged. "We're still trying to figure that out. So far, all we know is that Hanataro and Kira are under a similar spell themselves. That's why they've been acting so weird lately."

"Kira, too?!"

"Yup."

"That explains a lot… But how do we fix it?"

"Acording to Rangiku, the same hypnotist who put them under this spell is coming by today to lift it. She should be here in the afternoon."

"Is that why we're playing with him until then? To keep him busy?"

"Well, not entirely." Ukitake gave him a smile. "Rangiku promised to play with him after lunch. So we'll take over babysitting until then… But I'm also doing this mostly because it's fun! When is this ever going to happen again?"

"The next time someone gets bored and tries to screw around with other characters' mannerisms..?"

"Or the next time someone decides to write a fanfic?" Byakuya added.

"Nonetheless, we may as well enjoy it while we can."

"Ok…" Hisagi poked his chin thoughtfully. "But here's another question… Does he have any idea what's going on when he's acting like this?"

"Yes," Byakuya said without hesitation. "He's just incapable of controlling himself."

Ukitake shrugged. "I couldn't say. I don't know much about hypnosis… However, if he has no idea if he was under this spell, then isn't it possible for him to not remember any of this?"

"No. He knows what he's doing. He'll remember," Byakuya said confidently. He seemed to be very sure of himself.

Hitsugaya began to whine again. "I'm bored! Let's play a game!"

Ukitake smiled. "Ok. What would you like to play?"

"Hide-and-seek!"

He chuckled nervously. "Perhaps we should play something that involves you staying in this room, ok?"

"Duck-duck-goose?"

"Arlight. Byakuya?"

He raised a brow. "That's a game? How exactly do you play that?"

"You've never played duck-duck-goose before?"

"No."

Ukitake sighed. _Deprived childhood_… "Ok, then what games did _you_ play as a child?"

"None."

Everyone did a double-take.

"None?! Are you serious?!"

Byakuya nodded matter of factly. "I never played any of these childish games. There wasn't time for such nonsense. I had to study. My grandfather expected great things from me. I had no time for childish games."

"None at all? Ever?"

"As far back as I can remember, no."

_Really deprived childhood!_

"How about we play pretend, then?" Hitsugaya suggested.

"That's a great idea, Hitsugaya. How about it?" Ukitake looked at the others.

Hisagi shrugged. He could care less.

Byakuya raised another brow. "How exactly do you… 'play pretend'?"

"You use your imagination."

Byakuya just stared back at him, not fully comprehending the concept of playing pretend.

Hitsugaya began to rummage through Ukitake's things trying to find a prop of some kind to play with. "Got any toys?" he asked.

To everyone's surprise, Ukitake pulled out a small box filled with small toys. Hitsugaya stuck his nose inside. Inside he found jacks, a deck of cards, a slingshot, a slide whistle and a few other knick-knacks. But the thing that got his attention was something green and orange. He reached inside and pulled out a small squirt gun.

"What is this thing?"

"It's a water pistol," Ukitake explained. Seeing the confused look on Hitsugaya's face, he went on. "It's a gun you fill with water. When you want to squirt someone, you just push down on this trigger here." He pointed to the orange trigger on the green water gun.

"Is there water in it?" he asked, turning the gun around and looking down the barrel.

"No. But that's a good thing, because if there were, you'd have squirted yourself in the eye just now." Ukitake took the gun from Hitsugaya and brought it over to the other side of his desk. There, he pulled out a water bottle and started to carefully pour the water into the gun, filling it up. Hitsugaya watched off to the side, eyes full of wonder. "There you go." He handed Hitsugaya the gun.

It was much heavier now that it was full of water. Hitsugaya's eyes sparkled and he giggled playfully. "I know! We can play a bad-guy game!"

"A… what?" Byakuya still wasn't grasping the whole 'pretend' thing just yet. He was just as confused as when they started.

Hitsugaya jumped onto a couch, making himself taller and addressed them all in a tough, manly voice. "Ok! I'll be the awesome hero with a powerful weapon! And you will be the bad guys!"

"Say what?"

"That's a wonderful game, Hitsugaya! So creative, isn't it?" Ukitake looked to the others.

"Are we still talking about the same thing here? That game is so simplistic! There's no-"

Ukitake threw a hand over Byakuya's mouth. "Wonderful game, Hitsugaya! Let's start!"

Hitsugaya giggled and jumped off the couch. "Ok! Here I come!"

"I'm still not fully understanding this…" Hisagi muttered to himself.

In a flash, Hitsugaya charged at them with his gun held high. Ukitake jumped to his feet and pretended to attack him. Hitsugaya ducked down and ran between his legs and popped up behind him. He pointed his gun at him and fired. Water shot out and missed Ukitake by mere inches. Ukitake towerded over him. "Ha! You missed!"

Hitsugaya pointed the gun again. "Ha!" He pulled the trigger and nailed Ukitake right in the chest.

"Ahh! No! I am defeated!" Ukitake put on quite a show of falling in super slow motion onto the floor by Hitsugaya's feet.

Hitsugaya jumped up and down triumphantly. "I did it! I got him!"

Hisagi leaned down. "Uh… Sir?"

"Just play along," he whispered.

Hitsugaya kicked him in the head. "Hey! You're dead! You can't talk!"

"Oh, sorry." Ukitake said with a soft chuckle and stuck his tonuge out of his mouth, playing dead.

Hitsugaya giggled and went after Hisagi next. "Say you're prayers, evil-doer!" He squirted him in the face.

"Hey! What's the big-"

Hitsugaya squirted him again. "Bam! You're dead!"

"Listen, I'm gonna-"

Ukitake grabbed his arm to hold him back. "You're dead. Lay on the floor like a good corpse."

"But-"

"Just do it. Humor him."

With a sigh, Hisagi laid down next to Ukitake and shut his eyes playing dead.

Hitsugaya ran around the room shouting battle cries and stopped in front of Byakuya who was still sitting on the floor, completely unmoved. He pointed the gun at his head. "Are you the leader?"

Byakuya looked at the others for answers. When Ukitake nodded his head, Byakuya looked back at Hitsugaya and nodded as well.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

He looked back at Ukitake. But this time, he wasn't giving him any answers. He looked back at Hitsugaya. "I'm… sorry?"

"That's not good enough. I want you to beg."

"What?!"

"Beg for forgiveness!"

"Foeget it."

Hitsugaya frowned. "You're supposed to beg."

Byakuya growled. "Fine." With his arms still folded and with a scowl on his face, he 'begged'. "I humbly beg your forgiveness."

Hitsugaya pointed the gun to Byakuya's forehead. "Sorry doesn't cut it this time, evil-doer. Take that!" He squeezed the trigger and squirted him in the face.

Byakuya blinked. He looked at Ukitake.

"You're dead," he hissed, barely moving his lips.

Byakuya fell over backwards and laid on the floor next to the others flat on his back.

Hitsugaya stood over his body and studied his face. "Hey, you're dead. Shut your eyes."

Byakuya closed his eyes.

"That's better." Hitsugaya walked over to Ukitake and pointed the water gun in his face. "Now tell me where you are keeping the hostage."

"What, there's a hostage now?" Byakuya muttered. "Damn kid can't keep anything straight…"

"Hey! No talking! You're dead! Shut up!"

Byakuya buttoned his lip, But he was still confused about this whole pretend thing.

"Now answer me…" Hitsugaya went back to interrogating Ukitake. "Where is the hostage?"

With his eyes still closed, he answered, "But how can I tell you? I'm dead, remember?"

Hitsugaya blinked. Oh, yeah! That's right! But that was easily fixed. "You're half alive."

Ukitake opened his eyes. "Ok. She's down the hall in the captive chamber."

"Captive chamber. Right!" He started toward the door then stopped. He looked back at Ukitake, confused.

"You're office."

"Oh!" He nodded. "Thanks!" Then he fired his water gun back at Ukitake and got him in the face. "Now you're full dead."

Ukitake closed his eyes and stuck his tonuge out again, dead.

Hitsugaya opened the door and ran toward his office.

"Stupid kid…" Byakuya muttered.

"No talking, dead guys!"

~*~*~

Rangiku was feeling very proud of herself. She had done so much work today! Hitsugaya would be so pleased. A few more inches and the stack on the floor would be have done. What progress! And all before lunch, too.

The door swung open and in came Hitsugaya with a water gun. His face lit up when he saw her. "Hi, hostage!"

She looked at him quizzically. "Uh… hostage?"

He hurried over to the desk. "Uh-huh. I'm here to save you!"

"Oh. Ok." She wasn't sure what was going on, but it appeared that he was playing a game. "But where is Ukitake. Wasn't he watching you?"

He smiled at her proudly. "I killed him!"

"You what?!"

He held up the gun. "With this, see?"

She let out the breath that had caught in her throat. For a moment there, she thought he was serious. "Oh..! Ok, then."

He grabbed her arm in an attempt to pull her away. "I'm here to save you. Now, come on!"

She pulled back. "No, it's ok. I'm fine here."

"But you're imprisoned!"

_He has no idea_… "When you put it that way…" But she couldn't just up and leave. She promised to play with him after lunch. Until then, she had to get as much work done as she could. She had to play along. "But you'll never set me free that way."

He stopped pulling on her arm. "Oh?"

"Right. You'll need to…" She looked around. _That _seemed good enough. "Ah! You'll need to make a trade."

"What kind of trade?"

"Instead of a key, you'll have to deliver these papers to the room down the hall." Rangiku handed him a large stack of papers. They were finished paperwork that needed to go to that room, but Rangiku was too lazy to do it herself. "But the trick is…" She leaned closer as if whispering a secert to him. "You can't make any stops on the way or it won't work and I'll be trapped forever."

Hitsugaya's mouth opened letting out a quiet gasp.

"It's a big job. Others will try to distract you from your task. Do you think you're up for it?"

He nodded his head, taking the stack of papers from her. "Sure! I'll do it!"

"Remember: no stops and don't lose those papers. Just hand them to the person in the room and tell them the trigger words."

"What are they?"

"They are… 'Here's today's work.' Can you do that?"

He nodded. "Sure can! Leave it to me!" With the stack in hand, he turned and left the office.

Rangiku sat back in her chair. That worked pretty well.

Hitsugaya did as he was told and carried the stack to the end of the hall.

"Hello, Captain," a Soul Reaper from his squad said in greeting.

"Can't stop. I gotta deliver these. No distractions," he said and kept walking.

Another Soul Reaper said hello to him, but Hitsugaya kept going all the while chanting to himself, "No stops, must deliver. No stops."

He finally arrived at the room down the hall and handed the stack to the first person he saw. "Here's today's work!"

"Thank you, Captain."

He jumped up and down. "Yay! Mission complete! Hostage is free!" With that, he ran from the room, leaving all to wonder what in the world he was talking about.

~*~*~

Isane passed by the open door to Ukitake's office and did a double-take. There were three Soul Reapers laying on the floor. She poked her head in, worried. "Are you alright?!"

Ukitake shushed her. "Can't talk."

"Why?"

"We're dead."

She looked at him quizzically. "What?"

"Hitsugaya shot us, now we're dead," Hisagi answered this time.

She looked from him to Byakuya, who still had a scowl on his face, back to Ukitake who was smiling with his eyes still shut tight. She raised an eyebrow and gave a shake of her head. "Whatever." She walked off wondering what was going on.

"I still don't see why we're still on the floor like this," Byakuya said.

With his eyes still shut, Ukitake said, "Because we're dead."

"Why are you still smiling?" Hisagi asked.

"Because it's fun. And you're supposed to be dead. Close your eyes."

Hisagi shut them again and placed his head back on the floor. "How do you find this fun?"

He shrugged. "Because it is. When was the last time you ever played?"

"Hmm… I can't remember."

"See? Isn't it nice to have fun for a change?"

"Hmph!" That was Byakuya this time.

"And what's your problem?"

"We still have so much work to do. We don't have time for this childish nonsense."

"_We_ have work or _you_ do?"

"Does it matter?"

"You're supposed to be dead. Why are you still talking?"

"Oh, for God's sake, Ukitake..!"

"Play dead!"

"Hmph!" Byakuya became silent again.

Several minutes passed and all was quiet.

Hisagi was getting impatient. "Just how long is this going to take?"

"What do you mean?" Ukitake asked.

"I mean where is he? Hitsugaya's taking his good sweet time…"

"Let him have his fun."

"What if he's in trouble? Shouldn't we go and try to find him or something?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Right, Byakuya?"

There was no answer.

"Byakuya?" Ukitake opened his eyes and looked at the captain at his side. His eyes were closed and was breathing deeply. "Byakuya?"

His face was calm and peaceful. He let out a soft snore.

Ukitake gave a soft chuckle. "Well, I'll be…"

"What?"

Ukitake pointed to Byakuya. "He fell asleep."

"He did?!" Hisagi sat up and looked at him. "Ha! Wow, that's something."

"I guess the excitement was too much for him."

"Well, wasn't he trying to take a nap before? I guess he's taking it now."

"I guess…" Ukitake looked at the door and forced Hisagi to lay back down.

"What are you-?!"

"Shh!"

Hitsugaya appeared in the doorway and tossed the water gun aside. "I'm back! And I win! Game over!"

"Shh!" Ukitake pointed to the captain on the floor. "He's asleep."

"Really?" Hitsugaya looked. "Neat. How come?"

Hisagi shrugged. "Maybe he was bored. He was lying there for a while with his eyes shut. It was no wonder… What are you doing now?"

Hitsugaya crawled over and sat next to Byakuya's body. "He's kinda cute like this. Like a big teddy bear."

"Don't disturb him. The last thing we need around here is a grumpy Byakuya."

Hitsugaya pulled back. "You're right." He watched Byakuya's chest rise and fall with each breath he took. Hitsugaya let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Ukitake asked in a whisper.

"A little," Hitsugaya mumbled. "I'm a little worn out from the game and watching him sleep is making me a little…" Another yawn interrupted him. "I'm gonna take a nap."

Ukitake nodded. "That's a good idea."

Hitsugaya laid down next to Byakuya and wrapped his scarf around his shoulders. Byakuya didn't stir despite there being another captain's body laying mere inches from his. Hitsugaya was asleep in seconds, curled up next to Byakuya.

Ukitake smiled at them. Now _this_ was a cute sight. If only he had a camra on him.

* * *

Now come on, how cute was that?! ^-^

Please review! XD


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:**

Rangiku opened the door and couldn't help but smile at the sight before her.

All three captains and Hisagi were passed out on the floor. Hisagi was laying on his back next to Ukitake in a light doze. Ukitake was laying partly on his side, one arm supporting his head and the other draped over his stomach. Despite being on the hard floor, he seemed to be sleeping quite comfortably. Byakuya was laying flat on his back with Hitsugaya using his chest for a pillow. Hitsugaya was wrapped up in Byakuya's scarf and sleeping with his mouth wide open. It looked as if Byakuya had an adorable white-haired teddy bear to snuggle with.

"Aw, now isn't that precious?" she whispered aloud to herself.

Her voice was just loud enough to awaken Hisagi from his light slumber. His eyes opened and he looked around. "Who's there?… Rangiku?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Hitsugaya."

He looked toward Byakuya and pointed. "There he is."

"Well, duh. I already knew that." She walked over and gave Ukitake a nudge. "Captain, wake up. Hey, wake up."

He moaned and rolled over onto his stomach, hiding his face.

"Captain Ukitake!"

He jolted awake. "Huh?! What?!" His head spun around and his eyes focused on the woman kneeling next to him. "Oh… Oh, it's you, Rangiku." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You startled me. I… I must have fallen asleep…"

"Hitsugaya wore you out, huh?"

He grinned. "Nah… Not much. He's really cute. You know I love children. I feel like an uncle to him. I just sort of fell asleep a little while ago after our game. The floor is surprisingly comfortable…"

"Holy crap! I fell asleep, too! What time is it?!" Hisagi looked around for a clock.

"It's only a little after noon. It's 12: 04," Rangiku said.

He let out a huge sigh. "Oh, good. For a second there, I was afraid that I slept through my duties… I don't want to fall behind on my work. I'm up to my neck in work as it is… And Kira's not around to help me out anymore."

"By the way, has anyone seen him recently?" Rangiku asked.

Ukitake and Hisagi both shrugged. "Nope."

"Well, we should find him at some point today."

"To undo the spell he's under?" Hisagi asked.

Rangiku's head shot up. "How- how did you..?"

"I told him. Sorry…" Ukitake rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"So he knows?"

"Yup."

She sat back rubbing her head. "What else do you know?"

"Just about as much as Ukitake and Byakuya."

"So he knows, too?!"

Ukitake grinned sheepishly. "But I swear I didn't tell anyone else."

She looked back at Hitsugaya who was sprawled out at this point. "I guess I'd better take him off your hands. He needs to eat after all." She crawled over to him and gave him a poke. "Captain?"

He kicked his leg and nailed Ukitake in the shin.

"Ow!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry about that."

"Does he always do that in his sleep?" he asked rubbing his leg.

"Not usually. He's usually very calm. But ever since his personality was altered, he's become very… Well, like this."

"Restless, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't use that word, but yes." She dragged Hitsugaya away from his sleeping place and onto her lap. She propped him up into a sitting position. "Captain, it's time to wake up."

He always hated hearing those words. It meant to stop dreaming and get back to the real world around you. He wanted to stay put and keep sleeping. "No, too tired," he slurred sleepily and snuggled into her lap.

"Don't you want to play?"

"Mmm… Later…" He snuggled up into her warmth and went back to sleep.

With a sigh, she lifted him up into her arms and rubbed his back. He rested his head on her shoulder and drooled.

"Now what do you plan to do?" Hisagi asked.

"Well, he has to eat after all. And I'm pretty hungry, too. I'll just let him sleep for a while longer and hopefully he'll wake up when he smells food. He must be hungry." She gave a nod of her head since she couldn't bow with Hitsugaya in her arms. "Thanks for taking care of him for me."

"Anytime!" Ukitake smiled back. "Personally, I think he took a lot out of Byakuya over there." He pointed to the still sleeping captain on the floor.

"Well, he has been overworked lately…"

Thanking them again, Rangiku slipped out the door. Hitsugaya safely in her arms, she carried him down the hall toward to closest kitchen. She stroked his back and ignored the drool on her shoulder. Today, this afternoon, he would be changed back. He would be his old self again. Back to the old hardworking, moody, sake-hating Hitsugaya that he really was. Such a shame, too. She was just starting to grow really fond of this new Hitsugaya. The thing she wasn't fond of was having to do all the paperwork in his stead and having to keep this whole thing a secret from everyone who might tease him about it. Unohana already knew and so did Ukitake, and they weren't the type to spread it around the Soul Society. Hisagi knew, but it was unclear whether or not he would keep it a secret from others. Then there was Byakuya. He was mature, but she wouldn't put it past him to go telling other people about it. He was very mysterious, that Byakuya.

Hitsugaya rubbed his chin on her shoulder and buried his nose in her neck. He was so adorable. Oh, how she was going to miss this.

She arrived at the kitchen and walked in. There weren't many Soul Reapers in here despite it being lunch time. But it was a fact she was very thankful for. This meant less people to gawk at him. She walked over to the table where a variety of foods had been laid out for the taking. She was eyeing the salad on the end hungrily. She walked around the table, hoping that the aroma of fresh food would be enough to awaken Hitsugaya from his nap.

"Afternoon, Lieutenant Matsumoto," a female Soul Reaper greeted her. "Um, what's wrong with the captain?"

She quickly glanced down at the bundle in her arms and came up with a believable lie. "Poor little guy, so overworked… He just sort of passed out filling out papers."

"Then why not leave him at the office?"

"I would, but he really should eat, but I don't know what he wants. So I carried him here to pick out his food."

"Oh, ok. That makes sense."

Whew! That was close!

She walked around the table, allowing Hitsugaya to get a good whiff of all the wonderful things to eat. It worked. Hitsugaya sniffed the air and opened his eyes. He lifted his head off her shoulder and got a good look around. There was a huge table covered with tasty looking food. Sandwiches, soups, meats, fruits, fish… It all looked so good!

He squirmed around in her arms, signaling to her to but him down. Once his feet hit the floor, he rushed over to the table and grabbed a plate. He started to fill it up with whatever food he could get his hands on, leaving the vegetables untouched, of course.

Once finished, he went over to a chair. Literally had to climb into it and sat down with his plate in his lap. He picked up a sandwich in both hands and began to chow down.

She smiled and got a plate for herself.

~*~*~

Kenpachi stood outside a door in the squad 11 training hall. He tapped his sword on his shoulder and scratched his head. "Now how in the hell..?"

"Captain!" Ikkaku and Yumichika came running in and skidded to a halt.

"Kenny! Kenny, Baldy and Pretty-boy's here!"

"Baldy?!" Ikkaku seethed.

"Pretty-boy?" Yumichika repeated confused.

Kenpachi turned, Yachiru still clinging to his shoulder. "You're late."

"Sorry, sir. We were in the middle of something."

"Distracted, really…"

"Well, never mind that." He turned back to the door in front of him. "We have a bit of a problem here."

Ikkaku followed his gaze to the door. It was the closet where they kept the bamboo training swords for sparing. "What seems to be the problem?"

Kenpachi growled and narrowed his eyes at the door. "I'm still trying to figure it out."

Yumichika and Ikkaku exchanged looks.

The pink-haired girl poked Kenpachi in the head. "Hey, Kenny. Why dontcha kick it again?"

He did as he was told and gave the door a kick.

Rustling could be heard from the other side of the door as well as muffled shouts.

"What the hell?"

"That's what I said." Kenpachi frowned and scratched his head again.

"It sounds like there's someone inside."

"Well, I already knew that."

"Then what's the problem?" Yumichika asked.

"The problem is getting him out without killing someone. I'd do it, but for some reason, no one else seems to like the idea."

"Maybe because you would willingly kill the guy inside…" a member mumbled under his breath.

"What'd you say?"

"N-nothing, sir."

"But I don't get it. Who's inside?"

Kenpachi reached down and pulled the door open. The door slid away revealing a tied up Kira suspended from the ceiling. The moment he saw promising opponents, he began to thrash about and kick. He tried to say something, but he was gagged with a white cloth. Though his words were muffled, they all knew he was saying his latest catchphrase: 'fight me'. Kenpachi kicked the door shut again and Kira's shouts died down.

"Who the hell would do that?"

"Yeah… before I had a chance…"

Renji walked by outside, whistling casually and missing his white headband.

~*~*~

Rangiku paced the office, wondering where that hypnotist could be. _Where is she? She should be here by now_.

Hitsugaya was just as restless, but for a different reason. He wanted to play! "Rangiku!" he whined. "You promised you'd play with me!"

_To be honest, I was kinda hoping that the hypnotist would be here by now and fix you so I wouldn't have to_… "In a minute, Captain."

"No! Now!" He bounced on the couch.

What was she supposed to do? She wanted to play with him, but at the same time she didn't have time. She had to keep a look out for that hypnotist. What if she didn't know where to go? What if she was lost? Plus she also had to find Kira. Hopefully someone had found him by now. Hanataro was still passed out in the infirmary, according to Unohana. She had to keep an eye on Hitsugaya and make sure that he didn't wonder off again.

_I can make this work. I'll keep an eye out for that woman and play with Hitsugaya at the same time. I can do both. Oh! And I can also look for Kira while I'm at it. Yes, I can handle this. No Problem. _"Ok, Captain. What would you like to play?"

He stopped bouncing. "I dunno."

That was always his answer. He wanted to play, and yet he never knew what to play.

"How about a drawing game? Want to draw pictures?"

He shook his head from side to side. "Nope. That's not a very fun game. You play that by yourself. Pick something fun!"

She thought for a moment, then picked up a stack of blank papers and set them down on the floor in front of him.

"I said no drawing games! Weren't you listening?" he whined.

"It's not a drawing game. Watch." She began to fold the papers multiple times. First in half then in half again. She opened them up and folded it this way and that until… "Ta-da!" She held up a finished paper crane.

Hitsugaya jumped off the couch and gawked at the folded crane in her hand. "Whoa! How'd you do that?!"

"It's easy. I'll show you."

He sat on the floor and watched her eagerly. She held up a piece of paper and showed him what to do. Hitsugaya clumsily folded the paper in half, trying to keep up with her and mimic her movements. By the time they were done, Rangiku had a beautiful paper crane and Hitsugaya had a slightly crinkled and misshaped one.

"I wanna try again," he said and grabbed another piece of paper. After a few minutes, Hitsugaya had finally finished his crane. This one was much better. Almost as good as hers. "Look! I did it!"

"That's very good, Captain."

He grabbed another piece of paper and started to fold that one as well. This was fun!

Rangiku walked over to the window and took a peek at the streets and buildings. There was no sign of anyone. _I hope she isn't lost… She did say today, right? Yes, she must have. She said that it would take her two days. This is the second day. Yes, today is the day. She should be showing up soon. Then again, she did say in the afternoon. Technically, evening is 6:00. So that makes the afternoon… 12:00 until 6:00. It's 1:00 now, so I have a good five hours before she comes. She could show up anytime from now until then._

She glanced down.

There was an army of paper cranes surrounding her on the floor and on the windowsill. She smiled. "Captain…"

She heard him giggle from the other side of the desk. "I didn't do it..!"

"Captain…"

His head poked out. "Ok, so maybe it was me. But how come you're standing over there? Aren't you gonna play with me?"

Perhaps they should leave the office to look for Kira and the hypnotsist. It would be more productive than just standing around like this. "I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Since we have so many cranes, and they're so beautiful… why don't we share them with other people?"

Hitsugaya's eyes sparkled. "Ok! That sounds like fun!" He gathered them all up into a pile and looked around for something to carry them in. He could use that small basket that was used for decoration on Rangiku's desk and put them inside. He ran to the door. "I'm ready!"

"Ok, but don't go running off, ok?"

"I won't!" He reached for her hand and held it tight.

~*~*~

"I can't believe you let that happen."

"Let what happen?"

"Allowing me to sleep on the floor of your office like that. How demeaning…"

"Demeaning? Byakuya, you were exhausted. And you looked so sweet sleeping there like that we couldn't bare to wake you up."

"Hmph! Half the day is gone now…"

"You were only out for an hour or so. It was a tiny, tiny little nap you had. Don't be so bitter about it. Are you always this grumpy when you first wake up?"

He turned his head and shot Ukitake a look. "Grumpy? I fell asleep on the floor of your office babysitting a hypnotized child!"

"I know. Isn't he cute?"

"That isn't the word I would use. Hyper and annoying is more like it."

"Aw, don't be that way. You know how much I love children. I can't help but find him adorable."

"Hmph."

"Ukitake!" Hitsugaya came running towards them brandishing a paper crane in his hand. "This is for you!" He held it up for Ukitake to take.

He reached down and took it with a smile on his face. "Aw, how sweet. Did you make this?"

"Uh-huh!"

"It's very good. Thank you."

Hitsugaya giggled happily and bounced in place. Then he looked at Byakuya and tried the same thing. "This is for you, too. Here you go!"

He tried handing it to Byakuya but he wouldn't take it.

"Byakuya…" Ukitake whispered. "I think he's giving you something."

Byakuya shot him a look. "I'm good."

"Just take it."

"But I don't want it."

Hitsugaya stood on tiptoes and placed it on Byakuya's folded arms. "There you go! Isn't it pretty?"

Byakuya looked down at it. "I guess."

Hitsugaya smiled and ran back to Rangiku. "He likes it! Ukitake said it was very good! Did I do a good job?"

She nodded. "You're doing very good. Like a cute little delivery boy."

He giggled and swung the basket around in his joy.

Byakuya cleared his throat. "When is he changing back?"

"This afternoon."

"It is afternoon."

Rangiku sighed. "Well, I can't say for sure when she'll get here. But she should be around soon. I should look for her, maybe… And Kira, too. Has anyone seen him lately?"

"No, thank God."

Ukitake sighed. "I'm going to miss this... Hitsugaya, I mean. And you haven't really been enjoying it, have you, Rangiku?"

"Oh, I've just been so busy rushing around trying to do everything! I had to keep him from hurting himself, getting lost, or exposing his serect!"

"And a fine job you've done of that," Byakuya said sarcastically.

"But I also had to do all the paperwork for him and take care of Hanataro and keep Kira from killing himself. I've really had no time to enjoy him in this state. But perhaps some day I could call the hypnotist back… just for an afternoon of fun, you know?"

"Over my dead body, you will," Byakuya said with venom in his voice.

"Wha..?"

"He hasn't really been enjoying this whole childish-Hitsugaya thing very much," Ukiatke explained.

"I told you already, I don't care for children… And now Hitsugaya has confirmed why that is. I dislike hyperactivity."

Ukitake looked around. "Speaking of which, where is the little guy?"

Rangiku jumped and looked wildly around. He was gone. "Oh, no..! Not again!"

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21:**

Hitsugaya was having a lot of fun wondering around the building handing off paper cranes to everyone he came across. Every time he gave one to a Soul Reaper, he'd say 'here you go!' or 'for you!' in a cheerful voice. Quite a few of them wondered why he was behaving this way, but chose not to question it.

"I still say they should have tranquilized him and dragged him away!" Soi Fon muttered to Nanao as they walked down the hall together.

"But Unohana wasn't around to sedate him. I'm sure Kenpachi won't be too rough with him… Oh, who am I kidding? We'll be lucky if he has any bones left if he puts up a struggle."

"Nonetheless, at least we got him out of the closet."

"Ktff!" a passing Soul Reaper stifled a snicker.

"Oh, grow up!"

Nanao cocked her head to the side. "What..?"

"I said we got Kira to 'come out of the closet'."

"Come out of..?" Her face burned. "Now really! So immature!"

The Soul Reaper chuckled again and scampered off.

"Honestly!"

Nanao looked down. There was a short Soul Reaper looking up at her. "Captain Hitsugaya? What brings you here?"

He smiled and pulled out a paper crane. "For you!"

"Oh…" She took the crane from him. "Oh, uh… Thank you. I- It's lovely."

He giggled and ran over to Soi Fon. "For you, too!"

She took the crane he offered to her. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome!" He started to run off when Nanao called out to him. "Yeah?"

"Where are you going?"

He shrugged. "I dunno." He started to run off again.

Nanao and Soi Fon exchanged looks.

"Is he acting strange to you?"

"Very."

~*~*~

"How could you lose him?! I thought you were watching him!"

"Don't yell at me! He's fast!"

"Alright, let's not argue about this now. We have a captain to find."

Byakuya sighed. He had almost lost his cool again. "He's right. Let's look at this logically. Where is he most likely to go at this time?"

"How should I know? He's unpredictable."

"You've got to be kidding…"

"Then we'll split up," Ukitake suggested. "Rangiku, you go and try to find Kira and that hypnotist. We'll look for Hitsugaya."

"Sure, give her the easy part."

"Looking for Kira is easy?" she remarked. "Yeah, going after a bloodthirsty psychopath is so much easier than trying to locate a sweet, innocent captain."

"Kira is least likely to kill you. He's more likely to attack me than anyone here."

"Good point."

"Ok!" Ukitake took charge. "You go that way, and we'll go this way."

"Got it."

"Right."

They flash stepped away.

~*~*~

Shunsui Kyoraku stretched out on a rooftop and got ready to take a nap in the sun. He tilted his hat over his eyes and got comfortable. His nap was disturbed by the feeling that he was being watched. He tilted his hat up slightly and took a peek. A pair of aqua eyes were staring back at him.

"Uh…"

"Hi!" Hitsugaya chirped cheerfully.

"Yeah, hi."

Hitsugaya continued to stare at him.

"Uh, what do you want?"

He handed him a crane. "This is for you!"

He took the crane. "Uh, sure, thanks…"

"Do you like it?"

"Uh, yeah, I do."

"Yay!"

Kyoraku stared at him a few moments more before setting the crane down at his side. "So… What's going on with you?"

Hitsugaya shrugged. "I dunno. I'm doing pretty good!"

"Nice to hear it. I was just wondering because you seem to be in an awfully cheerful mood today."

"I am pretty happy!"

"That's good. I don't think I've ever seen you happy before. If I have I don't recall it." He rested his head back down and set the hat over his eyes again. Next thing he knew, he felt a pressure on his chest and stomach. He glanced out from under the rim of his hat and saw Hitsugaya was laying on top of him. "Uh…"

"Are you taking a nap?"

"Trying to."

"Do you want to play instead?"

"Uh… Not really."

Hitsugaya sighed disappointedly. "Oh, ok. I understand." But he didn't get off his chest.

Kyoraku sighed. "If you're looking for something to do, I have snacks."

His white head picked up at the word. "Snacks? Where?"

Kyoraku pointed. "Over there. See it?"

Hitsugaya followed his finger over to a small box a few feet away on the roof. He crawled off his chest and scurried over to it. He sat down and opened it up. "What are these things?"

"They're called éclairs."

"Eclairs?" he repeated.

"Yup. They're my snack. One's strawberry flavor and the other's grape. You can have one if you want but be sure to save one for me. Ok?"

"Got it!" Hitsugaya reached inside and took out one of the packages. He peeled back the wrapping and took a bite. Cream gushed out and melted in his mouth. "Ohhh..! It's so good!" He took another bite and another. Soon his tasty snack was all gone. "That was yummy!"

Kyoraku snored.

Hitsugaya crawled over and pulled his pink flower kimono over his body, tucking him in. He sat there and watched him sleep.

He looked back at the box. _Maybe I should have a little just to see what it tastes like. Maybe it's a flavor he doesn't like_… Hitsugaya snuck over to the box and tore open the second package. He took a nibble. _Too small… I didn't taste any of the cream inside_. He took a bigger bite. _Mmm… Yummy! But I can't tell if it's strawberry or something else. I better take another bite just to make sure_. He took a bigger bite. And then another. He took one last bite and licked his fingers off. "That was so yummy!"

He looked down at the box. There was a small chunk of the éclair left, but not much. He had eaten most of it. About 1/7 of it was left.

"Oops…"

He took a nervous glance back at the sleeping captain. Still napping.

Hitsugaya gulped. He was in trouble now. He didn't mean to eat most of it. He just couldn't stop himself. It was so yummy! He slinked backwards and climbed off the roof. He scurried away before the captain could wake up and find his snack almost all gone.

~*~*~

"Shunsui… Come on, my friend, wake up."

Kyoraku opened one eye and lifted up his straw hat. "Oh, hey, Jushiro. What's up?"

"Too much," Ukitake answered. "I was wondering if you had seen Hitsugaya by chance?"

"Toshiro?" He sat up and looked over his shoulder. "Uh, yeah, he was over here not too long ago."

"Really? What did he want?"

"A snack. I said he could have one of my éclairs."

Ukitake strolled over to the open box on the roof. He looked inside. "…Just one, huh?"

Kyoraku groaned. "He didn't eat both of them, did he?"

"No… Just most of it." He held up the piece that was left.

"That little pig!"

~*~*~

"I don't see why I have to look for him, too. This is their mess. Why should I get involved?" Hisagi asked.

"Because you're already aware of the situation and I can't find Renji anywhere. Just shut up and do as I say," Byakuya told him as they sprinted down the hall. "The sooner we find him, the sooner he'll return to normal."

Ukitake turned the corner and missed hitting Hisagi by inches. "Ah! Have you found him yet?"

"No. You?"

"No, but I know where he was."

"Where?"

"Outside."

Byakuya moaned. "But that means that he could still be out there somewhere. Ukitake, you're good with children. Where are we most likely to find him?"

"How should I know that?"

"Because you're good with children and are fond of them. Surely you must have some idea where he'd be."

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be searching."

Hisagi pointed left. "I'll look this way." He ran off.

"Think, Ukitake. Think! Where could he be?"

"I really wouldn't know where to begin."

"Come on! It's not like he's going to come bursting through that door!"

Ironically, Hitsugaya did come bursting through the door Byakuya was pointing to wearing a blanket on his shoulders like a cape. "Da-duh-da! Super me! Whee!"

Both captains sweat-dropped.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Byakuya face-palmed.

"Up, up and away! Whoosh!" Hitsugaya dashed down the hall with his arms outstretched.

"Wait, Hitsugaya! Stop!" Ukitake gave chase and Byakuya followed suit.

"This kid is such a pain in the ass!" he snarled under his breath.

Hitsugaya ran as fast as he could down the hall, playing a flying game with, who he thought, were two new playmates. Every time they got near he would speed up again, just to tease them.

"Toshiro, stop!"

"Hitsugaya! We mean now!"

He ignored them and ran faster. He looked over his shoulder to see if they were still following. He laughed out loud and kept on running.

Ukitake gasped suddenly. "Hitsugaya, don't! Stop!"

Too late. Hitsugaya wasn't watching where he was going and headed right for a staircase. He tripped over the first step and tumbled down the flight of stairs.

The two captains stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down and found Hitsugaya laying at the bottom of the stairs in a heap. "Do you think he's alright?!" Ukitake asked, voice full of concern.

"I… I couldn't say."

They ran down the stairs and stood over him.

"Hitsugaya, is anything broken? Can you speak?"

His head popped out and he giggled. "That was fun! Let's do it again!" He started to climb back up the stairs.

"Oh, no, you don't!" The captains made a grab for him, but he was too fast and dodged effortlessly. The chase was on again.

"That kid is going to kill us…" Byakuya seethed.

~*~*~

"Thank you so, so, so, SO much for coming back! I could really use your help!"

"Not at all," the hypnotist smiled. "I'm glad I'm able to help. Sorry for the trouble, though… What I did to Kira and Hanataro was only supposed to be mild and temporary. I had no idea this would happen. They must be more suggestible than I thought…"

"Temporary?" Rangiku asked.

"Why, yes. Hypnosis never lasts forever unless you really want it to. If it's a command that they hate, then they'll snap out of it in time."

"Really? Oh, I have another question… Is it also true that they know what they're doing but can't stop themselves?"

"In a way, yes. Kira and Hanataro know what they're doing, but it's their alter egos that are doing the work. It's hard to explain."

"What about Hitsugaya? Will he remember any of this?"

She thought. "Mmm… It's hard to say… Since he wasn't aware of being hypnotized, he may just think all this was a dream. Or he may remember bits and pieces of what's been happening. It's hard to say for sure."

Rangiku felt her heart skip a beat. "So… he may remember anyway… And after all the trouble I went through..! But on the plus side, at least not too many people found out. Even if he does remember, I suppose it wouldn't be so bad. He'll probably just keep it to himself and not speak about it ever again."

"By the way, where is he? If I'm to change him back, he needs to be here."

Rangiku bit her lip. _Don't tell me he's still on the loose! _"Uh… I'll see what I can do. Until then just wait in the office." She pushed the hypnotist into her office, turned and broke into a dead run. She had to find him fast!

It didn't take long. Around a corner, she found three Soul Reapers slumped against the wall, panting and gasping for breath. Ukitake, Hisagi and Byakuya never looked so worn out before.

"That kid is going to kill us..!" Hisagi panted. "He'll be the death of us!"

"He's a little ball of energy, that kid," Byakuya added breathlessly.

"Just how long can he keep this up?"

Ukitake panted. "I… I had no idea he had all this energy..! Did he always have it?"

"Maybe it's the hypnosis..?"

Rangiku stepped in front of them. "What happened here?"

They all moaned. "Just give us five minutes..!"

She was surprised. "Even _you_, Byakuya?"

He took in a deep breath and spoke calmly. "Even I have my limits."

Ukitake smiled weakly. "Yeah… You never exert too much energy. In battle you mostly stand still. Since when have you ever run around this much?"

Byakuya shot him a look. "Fighting Hollows is one thing, babysitting a hyperactive kid is quite another."

"Good point."

"But where is he?" Rangiku asked impatiently. "The hypnotist is here and waiting!"

They all pointed down the hall in unison towards the whooping and hollering and giggles.

It turned out to be another goose chase. By the time Rangiku got there, he was long gone. She walked back to where she started.

"Rangiku!"

She hurried at her name. "What is it? Did you find him?"

"No, but he found us." Hisagi pointed down at his legs.

Hitsugaya was sprawled out over their outstretched legs, fast asleep.

"Now how did he..?"

"He just wondered back here and collapsed," Byakuya explained, looking very annoyed. "Honestly, that was a pointless waste of time..! No sooner do we send you away does he show up!"

Ukitake smiled and patted Hitsugaya's head. "He's so cute..!"

"Are you kidding me?! After what he put us all through, you still find him cute?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry, I just do. You've got to admire this kind of spirit."

"Spirit isn't the word I'd use…"

"But he can keep going until he's completely run out of energy and passes out. And look where he landed. How sweet is this?"

Byakuya snorted and turned away. He wasn't very amused.

Rangiku bent down and picked Hitsugaya up off of their laps and into her arms. "This turned out better than I had expected. I thought it would be much worse. At least I got him! Now he can be cured!"

"Thank God!" Byakuya straightened up and brushed off his clothes. "I have half a mind to make his life a living hell from now on because of this… If I didn't know better, that is. I'm aware he couldn't help himself, but still…"

~*~*~

"Here he is!" Rangiku called once she got back to the office. She had to carry Hitsugaya piggyback style all the way here.

The hypnotist jumped to her feet. She got a good look at his face. "But… he's still asleep."

"He has to be awake for this? But I thought you had to put him to sleep in order to hypnotize him."

"No, not sleep. Trance. It's like a wide-awake sleep. He has to be awake so I can put him under."

"Oh..!" Rangiku whined. "But he's so worn out, he refuses to get up."

"But that's a good thing."

"Huh?"

"If he's tired, it'll be easier to put him under. I just need him to open his eyes so he can follow the pendulum."

"Oh, ok." She bucked Hitsugaya on her back in an attempt to wake him up. "Oh, Captain… Captain..! Someone's here to see you."

"Mmm..! Hm?" He opened his eyes blearily. The first thing he saw was a blond woman staring back at him. He didn't know her. His shyness of strangers kicked in and he buried his face in Rangiku's back.

"Oh, now don't be shy. She just wants to help you."

"I'm fine!" he whimpered and hid his face from view.

The hypnotist sighed. "I only wanted to play a game with you."

That got his attention. As tired as he was, he was always ready for games. "A game? Like what?"

"A fun one, but you don't want to play so…"

He bolted up and reached out to stop her. "No! No, that's not true! I wanna play! I wanna play!"

She smiled and pulled out the pendulum. "I hope you're up to it. It's a hard game. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yup! What do I do?"

"You have to keep your eyes on this jewel when it swings. If you do, then you will be able to see if it changes. The jewel might change while it's swinging so you have to look at it very carefully in order to see it. Ok?"

He nodded happily and stared at the jewel. She started to swing it and he didn't take his eyes off it for a second.

_That was a good lie_, Rangiku thought. _There's no way Hitsugaya would ever pass up on a game. Good way to fool him._

Within a matter of minutes, Hitsugaya's eyes began to droop and he had a very distant look on his face. He was going under quickly. Rangiku kept her head turned the other way to make sure she didn't fall under the same spell, too. But she turned around when she felt his head hit her shoulder.

"It worked. He's under," the woman whispered.

Rangiku walked over and sat him down on the couch. He didn't move an inch. "So now what?"

"Now we can wake him up."

"What happens then?"

"Then he'll be back to his old self."

"Oh." Rangiku watched him breath for a few seconds before saying, "But… he'll remember this, won't he?"

"Not necessarily."

"Huh?"

"I mean, since he's in a trance and all, I could always hypnotize him into forgetting everything that's happened."

"You can? Really?!"

"Yes, however, it has to be done carefully. After all, he'll suspect something's up when he can't remember anything that's happened in the past few days."

Rangiku thought. "So… While he's like this, you can give him another command?"

"Yes."

"Anything you want?"

"Yes."

"But he won't be childish anymore?"

"Correct."

"Just how many commands can you give him at once?"

"Not too many. About three or four is enough. Too many commands will confuse him. Then there are post-hypnotic suggestions, which means I can tell him to do something, but it won't happen until later. In a nutshell, that's what it means."

"So in other words, if I gave him a command to do now, I can also give him a command to do later and he'll do it, right?"

"Basically."

Rangiku started to think. This was interesting information. Very interesting…

She flashed back to all the things he had done these past few days. All the shyness, all the nights she had to spend with him because he was too afraid to sleep by himself. The sugar rushes, and the sickness that came after. All the trouble she went through to keep people from finding out, and failing, of course. All the times he went running off and putting her through hell. But most importantly, all the paperwork she was forced into doing while he was like this! But he wasn't the only one. Hanataro and Kira were just as bad. Kira was a nut job, and Hanataro was a wild drunk and she had to put up with both of them. Not only that, but Hanataro was the one who drank her out of every last drop of her sake! She had been put through hell these past few days and now, just like that and so easily, it was all going to end? And what was she going to get for all her troubles? All her worry? Everything she had to put up with? Was she really just going to get her bossy, moody, workaholic, candy-and-sake-hating captain back and let that be the end of it? Just like that, let the old Hitsugaya return and go back to the way things were?

Fat chance!

This was a golden opportunity staring her in the face! She wasn't about to let this pass her by so easily.

"Ok, I'll wake him up now." The hypnotist was about to finish up when…

"Wait!" Rangiku stopped her. A sly grin spread across her face. "Not just yet…"

* * *

Oh, come on! You didn't think I was just going to end it like that, now did you?! ^-^

What do you think's going to happen now? Any ideas?

Please review!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22:**

"Oh, Captain..!" Rangiku sang, waving her glass in the air. "Top me off, won't you?"

Hitsugaya scurried over to his lieutenant with a large sake bottle. "Coming, Rangiku!" He halted inches from the couch and poured her a fresh glass of sake. "Is that enough?"

"That's plenty for now. Thank you." She took a swing.

"Is it good?"

"Very, Captain."

"Wonderful! Should I leave the bottle?"

"Nah, I'll call you over when I need more. You can go back to work."

"Got it!" He scampered back to his desk to fill out the rest of those forms.

Now _this _was the life. What happened? Simple, really. While Hitsugaya was in his cozy trance, Rangiku decided to take the once-in-a-life-time-opportunity and give him a new command. What was it? To not only allow sake in the office, but to serve it to her! It was a brilliant plan in her eyes.

She stretched out on the couch and relaxed. _This may be my greatest idea ever! It's by far the best thing I've ever done! _She took another sip of her sake. But she had to make sure that she changed everything back the way it was soon. She had to also remember not to get too drunk, as well.

Her plan came in two parts. Part one was complete: serve her sake. Part two was the next step, and it was a little more complicated. She had asked the hypnotist to implant a post-hypnotic suggestion in Hitsugaya before waking him up. The suggestion? She hadn't created it yet. That was the problem. She had to word her command very carefully to make him forget this whole thing ever happened. The command had to be immediately followed by the trigger. In this case, the snapping of fingers was the trigger.

_So in other words, if I were to say 'forget everything that's happened in the past few days' and snap my fingers, he will. Sounds simple enough. But how should I word it? Hmm, that's a toughie_… She stared into her sake cup, deep in thought. _Should I say something along the lines of 'forget everything that's happened in the past three or four days'? No, that won't work. He'll suspect something if he's missing a few days of his life. Bad idea… Hmm… Oh, what if I said 'forget everything you did while under hypnosis'? Ye- no, that won't work either. If he doesn't even know that he was ever hypnotized, how can he forget it? How do you forget something you don't know? Ah, this is going to be harder than I thought..!_

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Hitsugaya's giving her sake!"

"I know! He must still be under the spell…"

"When do you think she's gonna snap him out of it?"

"Hmph! Knowing, Rangiku, never. Why would she now that she has her own personal slave?"

"Hm, good point."

Yumichika and Ikkaku had been spying outside her door for the past several minutes. At first, it was just to see if Hitsugaya was willing to pose for more cute pictures… But this was much more interesting.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Yumichika whispered.

"What is it?"

"How 'bout we have some fun with him? I mean, he is a slave after all. We could make him do anything we want!"

Ikkaku frowned. "Nah. I think he's just a slave to her alone. Nothing in life is ever that easy… And you should keep your voice down or she'll hear you and skin us alive."

"No, she won't. She can't hear us."

"What are you two doing?!" Rangiku opened the door and stood over them.

Yumichika flinched and tried to hide behind Ikkaku. "We weren't doing anything! Just passing by…"

"What he said."

She leaned against the doorframe. "Yeah, right… Just what are you two up to?"

Yumichika gave her _his_ puppy eyes. "The truth?"

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

"Ok…" he sighed. "We were wondering-"

"_He_ was wondering," Ikkaku interrupted.

"-If we could barrow Hitsugaya for a little while?"

"What?! Why?!"

"It's not fair that you get to have all the fun!"

Rangiku folded her arms. "I can't believe you two! Using Hitsugaya as if he were a toy… He's not someone you can… That you can spin around like a top! You should be ashamed! How dare you even think about using him for personal gain like that."

"Rangiku! Rangiku!" Hitsugaya bounced next to her holding up a large sake bottle. "Should I freshen your drink again?"

The two men narrowed their eyes at her.

She flushed pink. "Uh… Not now. Later." She shooed him away back into the room. She turned back to the two glaring at her. "M- my reasons are different! Don't link me in with you!"

"Oh, so you can do it but we can't?"

"Y- no. No. I'm not saying that at all."

"It certainly sounds like it to me. Right, Ikkaku?"

"It sure does."

They had a three-way staring contest for what seemed like ages before Rangiku finally caved in.

"Oh, alright! Don't look at me like that!" she cried, stomping her feet childishly. "You two are such a pain!"

"Oh, shut up and fork him over!" Ikkaku extended his hand out as if expecting her to place Hitsugaya into his palm.

"But I can't! You don't understand!"

"And just what don't we understand?"

"I can't just hand him over to you. I still have to work out the second stage of this whole hypnotism thing."

Yumichika scrunched his face up in confusion. "There's a second stage?"

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed heavily. "Look… I need to make sure that he doesn't remember any of this. Got it? So I had the hypnotist implant another suggestion into his brain."

"Oh?" Ikkaku looked excited. "And just what does that do?"

"Nothing yet. I haven't given it to him yet. Basically, I have to give him a command and then immediately follow it up with a trigger."

"Trigger?"

"Yeah. You know, like snapping your fingers or clapping your hands or something like that."

Yumichika was beginning to grasp it before Ikkaku. "So, wait. You mean that you're going to make him forget all of this by using that method?"

"Exactly."

"So…" Ikkaku tried to figure it out. It wasn't going so well. It was so confusing. "So… So, uh… So you're going to tell him to forget everything and clap your hands to make it happen?"

"Sort of."

"I'm confused."

"What else is new?" Yumichika teased.

Rangiku took another deep breath and tried to explain it better. "Ok. I give him a command and he does it when I give him the trigger. What part of that don't you understand?"

"All of that."

She groaned. "Ok. Think of it this way. If I tell him to forget the events of today the next time I clap my hands, and then I clap my hands, he does it and that's it. No more hypnosis. He's cured."

Ikkaku stared at her blankly. "Huh?"

"Urgh! Ok, plain and simple! If I were to say 'Hitsugaya, the next time I snap my fingers you will think that you are a cat', he'll do it. But only after I snap my fingers."

"Oh! I get it now!" Ikkaku banged his fist in his open palm. "So he'll do it only if he hears you do that trigger thing and then after he's told to forget, he'll be back to normal?"

Rangiku snapped her fingers. "Exactly!" Finally, he understood! Although, she had to admit that it was all rather confusing.

They heard a thud from within the office and turned. Hitsugaya had dropped the sake bottle and was crouched on the floor. He scratched behind his ear with his knuckles purring softly.

"Uh… Captain?" Rangiku feared the worst.

He looked up at her and said, "Meow?"

"Oh, for the love of God, NO!" She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and pulled. "This can't be happening! It was only an example! I didn't mean for this to happen! Captain, quick, forget that command! Forget the order!"

He merely purred and licked his arm.

Ikkaku and Yumichika burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh!"

They didn't stop.

"I said don't! Knock it off!"

Ikkaku wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh, man! That's something alright! This is wonderful!"

"Wonderful how?" Rangiku barked.

"Because now he can't talk!" Ikkaku laughed again. "Before he was a huge pain! But now he's a simple-minded animal! This is great!"

"Great for who?!" Rangiku shrieked. "I only get ONE command! And we just blew it on THIS!"

"We?"

"Yes, we! If you weren't so slow, I would have never used that command in the first place!"

Hitsugaya crawled around the room on all fours, meowing and purring all the way. He seemed very content as a cat. He looked so calm and at peace.

"That does it!" Rangiku stomped her foot again. "I'm getting that hypnotist back in here and having her reverse this herself! I should have done that in the first place! But no..! I had to treat myself for all my hard work! Some fun that turned out to be! And it's all because of you two idiots! Everything would have been fine if you had never shown up! I could have handled this! I could have fixed this! God!" She continued muttering to herself all the way down the hall, causing several passing Soul Reapers to stare at her.

Yumichika and Ikkaku exchanged looks as if to say 'so now what?' Then their faces spread into two twin grins. Evil, sadistic grins. This was going to be so much fun!

Rangiku dragged the hypnotist back into her office. "See? He's right-" The office was completely empty. "Ahh! Where'd they go?!"

"Ha ha! Look at him go! Hahahaha, oh, man, isn't this great?!"

"I know. Good thing Unohana's lieutenant took up knitting otherwise we never would have found yarn for him to play with." Yumichika rolled the pink yarn ball across the floor and watched Hitsugaya chase after it.

Hitsugaya pounced on it and batted it back and forth from hand to hand. He whacked it with his fist and it bounced to the other side of the room. He meowed and scurried after it on all fours.

"Aw, isn't he cute?"

Ikkaku smiled. "Yeah, I guess he is… Funny, too."

Yumichika clicked his tongue and lowered his body. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty… Here, kitty…"

"Meow?" Hitsugaya cocked his head to the side. Yumichika called again and Hitsugaya crawled over to him on all fours. "Meow?"

Yumichika smiled and scratched behind his ears. Hitsugaya closed his eyes lazily and purred, enjoying the pleasant sensation. "Aw, look. He likes it!" Hitsugaya then crawled into his lap and sat down.

"Looks like he's taken a shine to you, huh?"

Yumichika didn't mind at all. Hitsugaya was actually pretty light and he didn't mind the warmth on his lap. He reached up and patted his head. Hitsugaya had such soft hair! How did he do it? How did he manage to be so perfect in every way? He had cute aqua eyes, soft, perfectly sculpted white hair, and the most perfectly small, soft, adorable body for cuddling. No wonder girls went crazy for him! Yumichika was starting to feel a little jealous.

Ikkaku had a sudden idea. "Hey, do you think he likes milk?"

"Meow?" Hitsugaya's head picked up at the mention of the word.

"I bet he'd like that," Yumichika chuckled. "But I don't want to have to go all the way to the other side of the building to find the stuff."

"No need. Ukitake has some right here." Ikkaku pointed to the desk. Of all the rooms to be in, this was the best one. Ukitake always seemed to have everything you needed.

"Good eye." Yumichika looked toward the door. "But when is he coming back? Won't he be mad if we're in his office when he's away?"

"Nah, I wouldn't worry about him. He'd be cool with it even if he knew." Ikkaku sounded very confident.

"But where is he?"

"How the hell should I know?" Ikkaku said pouring the milk into a bowl.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Get what?"

"That bowl." Yumichika pointed.

Ikkaku looked down. "Oh. There." He pointed to a pile of fruit on the desk.

"So you used a fruit bowl for a milk bowl?"

"Why not?"

Ikkaku set the bowl on the floor and Hitsugaya ran over to it. He began to lap up the milk with his tongue at a fast pace. He got it all over his chin and nose. There was a flash. Startled, Hitsugaya looked up. Yumichika was holding up a camera with a smile. "Isn't he adorable?" he asked to no one in particular.

Hitsugaya finished off the milk and licked his lips. He purred and started to lick his arm, grooming himself.

Ikkaku sat back on the floor. "So now what?"

Yumichika shrugged.

"Ahem."

They jumped and spun around.

Byakuya was towering in the doorway above them.

"Uh… C- Captain Byakuya..!" Yumichika stuttered.

Ikkaku tried to think of an excuse for being in this room. "Uh, we were… uh, we- we were…" No good. His mind was blank.

"Meow!"

Byakuya's gaze glided over to Hitsugaya and watched his ever increasing strange behavior take place. He was licking himself and purring like a cat. Byakuya glanced back down at the two before him. "Hypnosis again?"

"Uh…" Yumichika's voice wasn't working anymore. He looked to Ikkaku for help.

"Only a slight set back. Nothing to worry about. He just… thinks he's a cat…" Ok, so maybe it was something to worry about.

"A cat, huh?" He looked back at the purring captain.

"But- but we can handle this! We're just having a little bit of fun!" Yumichika protested.

"Fun, eh?"

Hitsugaya meowed and licked his kimono clean.

Byakuya blinked. He looked at Yumichika, to Ikkaku, back to Hitsugaya and then back down at the two Squad 11 members. Upon doing so, he reached into his kimono and pulled out a laser pointer. "Here, use this." He handed it to them.

Yumichika took it in his hands as if receiving gold. "B- but… You… Where did you get this thing?"

"Rukia brought it back with her on her last visit to the World of the Living. I understand cats are fascinated by that sort of thing."

Ikkaku was confused. "But why are you giving it to us?"

He shrugged. "You wanted to have fun with him, right? Just shine that thing on a wall. He'll play with it."

A light bulb went off in Yumichika's head. "But then, wouldn't he..?"

It was very, very rare for Byakuya to do this, but he couldn't stop himself this time. He grinned. They couldn't help but notice the glimmer of malevolence in his eye when he grinned at them. That evil, mischievous smile of his…

Ikkaku smiled back, understanding what they were expected to do.

"Have fun." Byakuya bid them farewell and walked off.

With evil twin grins, the two went to work tormenting the helpless Hitsugaya. Yumichika shined the laser pointer on the floor by his feet. Hitsugaya jumped. The red dot started to spin really fast on the floor. He reached out with his hand and tried to trap it under his palm. He brought his hand down on the floor, but the red dot was now sitting on top of his hand. How strange. He didn't feel it on him at all. This dot had no weight to it whatsoever. He raised his other hand up and brought it crashing down on top of his other hand with awesome speed. The poor captain let out a howl of pain after slapping his own hand.

Ikkaku snickered. "My turn, my turn!" He snatched the laser from Yumichika and shined it on the floor a few feet away.

"Meow?" Hitsugaya tried to catch it in his hand again, but the red dot zipped away. "Meow?"

The dot zoomed to the right. Hitsugaya tried to trap it under, as far as he was concerned, his paw. When he did so, the dot zipped to the left. He tried to pounce on it. It vanished. Meowing in confusion, Hitsugaya looked under his feet for the red dot. It wasn't there.

Ikkaku snickered. He had turned off the laser just to tease the poor captain. As soon as Hitsugaya began to lose interest, he turned it back on.

Hitsugaya looked down. There was that tricky red dot just sitting there on the floor mocking him. With a meow, he pounced on it. The dot zipped away. He cased after it. The dot flew across the floor, spinning around and around. Hitsugaya followed it, running around in circles.

Ikkaku laughed out loud watching Hitsugaya chase his tail. This was hilarious. He curved his wrist, making the laser's red dot dart from left to right. He was starting to wear the poor captain out.

"Come on, give it back!" Yumichika reached for the light.

Ikkaku pulled it out of his reach. "No, no. Not yet. Watch this." He shined the light on the wall.

Hitsugaya crouched low to the ground, poised for the attack. With a nimble pounce, he crashed face-first into the wall and landed in a heap on the floor.

Ikkaku burst out laughing, rolling on the floor.

"Ikkaku, that's mean!" Yumichika put his hands on his hips. "Do it again."

He shined the light on the wall and watched as Hitsugaya once again ran headlong into the wall with a loud thud.

"WHAT are you DOING?!"

They jumped and whirled about. Rangiku was standing in the door looking outraged.

Yumichika tried to explain… very poorly. "You knew this would happen! You wanted this to happen! You can't blame us for this!"

"And what kind of crap is that you're spouting off?" she demanded.

"_You_ hypnotized him! _You_ gave him the command! _You_ let us out of your sight! You knew! You know us by now. You knew we would do this. You knew this would happen. You wanted this to happen! We can't be blamed! We're not at fault here!"

"Oh, yeah right!" She pushed him out of the way. "I knew you guys were idiots with a cruel sense of humor, but that doesn't excuse you from the blame."

"But none of this would have happened if only you had changed him back when you had the chance. But noooo..! You had to be selfish!"

"Don't you pin this all on me! I'm not the one who- WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM, IKKAKU?!"

"Nothing!" he insisted while shining the light on the wall for the fifth time.

And once again, Hitsugaya fell for it and ran his head into the wall again with a loud thud.

"You poor thing!" Rangiku cried. Then she turned and slapped Ikkaku's bald head. "Knock that off right now! Stop it!"

"Why? It's funny!"

"Not for him it isn't!"

THUD! Hitsugaya had face-planted the wall again.

"I said stop that!" She snatched the laser away from Ikkaku and hid it in her kimono. She ran over to Hitsugaya and hugged him, checking him over for injuries. "Oh, you poor little guy! Are you ok? Did that big, mean ol' Ikkaku hurt you? Did he harass you?"

Hitsugaya rubbed his face on her chest and purred.

Yumichika pulled out his camera and took a picture. "Aw, isn't that sweet? You two look great together!"

Rangiku gasped and released her hold on Hitsugaya. "What are you doing with that?!"

"With what?"

"That camera!"

"I was taking pictures. Why?"

"You can't do that!"

"Why not? You do it all the time."

"But I can't have Hitsugaya finding out about any of this! That's why I haven't been taking any pictures of him, otherwise I would have. Those pictures are evidence! I can't let him or anyone else see those! Give me that camera!"

Yumichika hid it. "No way! These are mine!"

"Give it!"

"No!"

"Captain Ukitake, I need-" Sajin Komamura stopped in the doorway. Everyone froze. "Oh. Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" they all said in unison.

"Where is Ukitake?"

"Uh… Well…"

Sajin shook his furry head. "That's alright. If he comes back just tell him that I'll be returning his book later tomorrow evening." He moved to the other side of the room and started skimming through the bookshelf.

Everyone in the room was calm for the most part… except for Hitsugaya. He was staring at the furry captain with huge, frightened eyes. He started to sweat and hyperventilate. He shook, trembling in fear.

Rangiku had noticed this and tried to calm him. "C- Captain… It's alright… Cap-"

With a shriek of terror, Hitsugaya yowled and bolted from the office, running down the hall as fast as his four legs could carry him.

"Captain, no!" Rangiku chased after him.

Sajin turned. "What was that?"

Both Ikkaku and Yumichika knew that Hitsugaya was running due to a new hypno-induced phobia of canines. Cats hated dogs. They got to their feet and chased after the other two. The captain was on the run again.

* * *

Ok, I think the next chapter will be the last… I think. We'll see.

Please review!

^-^


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23:**

This was possibly the worst luck ever! No matter what, it always seemed as if she was always chasing after him. Although, she had to admit that he was very cute as a cat. Fun was fun, but she knew that it was time for it all to end. She had to find him and set things straight.

"Rangiku!" Hisagi called. "Are you looking for something?"

"Yes! Yes, I am!" she panted. "I'm looking for Hitsugaya."

"I think I found him." Hisagi pointed up into a tree.

And there was Hitsugaya sitting on a branch, grooming himself.

"Captain!" she called up to the tree. "Captain, please come down from there!"

He wasn't listening.

Hisagi folded his arms. "I thought you were going to cure him…"

"And I was."

"Ahem." He pointed up into the tree.

"It's only a slight setback!"

"Really?"

"Ok, a little more than slight."

"It looks like more of a disaster to me."

"Shut up! Who asked you?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

Her eyes lit up. "You can get him down?"

"I can try," he said with a shrug.

"Please get him down! Please!" she begged. "Please, please, please, get him down! I have to fix this!"

"Alright, alright! I'll do it. Sheesh!" Hisagi flash stepped up into the tree and knelt on the branch next to Hitsugaya. "Hey, there… Uh, Captain Hitsugaya?"

He turned and hissed at him.

Hisagi snapped his fingers. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty… Come on. Come here, kitty-cat…" He felt foolish.

Hitsugaya hissed again and swung his hand at Hisagi, trying to scratch him with his nails.

With a groan, Hisagi looked down. "I can't get him to come down!" he called to Rangiku.

"Just grab him, then!"

"Grab him? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead!"

"If you insist…" Hisagi moved closer and tried to grab Hitsugaya.

Bad idea. Hitsugaya turned around and attacked. Yowling with fury, he began scratching the living daylights out of poor Hisagi.

"Ow! Ow! OW! Captain, your nails- OW! That hurts! OWW! OW! Stop it! OW! Ahh! AHH! OW!"

"REAROW!" Hitsugaya screeched and swiped Hisagi across the face one last time before jumping off the branch and running off once again.

"Captain, no!" Rangiku screamed.

"AaaaAAHHH! GAH!" Hisagi fell out of the tree and landed at Rangiku's feet. He crawled out of the shallow crater, face covered with scratch marks and blood. "OW! That bastard has claws! When he wakes up, tell him to trim his nails, for God's sakes! That hurt like hell!"

"Thanks for trying," Rangiku started to run after Hitsugaya again. "Sorry, but I have to catch him before anything else happens!"

It took well over an hour and there was still no sign of her captain anywhere. She was about ready to give up and hope for the best. But that wouldn't do. She had to find him! There was no time to waste and no time to even think about giving up. He had to be around here somewhere.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto!" Unohana came running up to her looking very distressed. "Matsumoto, I can't find Hanataro anywhere! He's not in his bed. He must have run off!"

"Oh, no! Not him, too!" Rangiku cried. "Hitsugaya's run off, too."

"He has? Where did he go?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be looking… I haven't seen Hanataro, either… or Kira."

"Oh, dear..! This is a problem, isn't it?"

"Miss Matsumoto!" A blond woman ran up to them.

"Who is this?" Unohana asked.

"This is the hypnotist," Rangiku explained. "What is it?"

"If you can get them all in one place at the same time, I can reverse things in one go."

"Really?!"

"Yes. But first we have to find them and get them all together."

Unohana moved closer. "Are you able to perform this act now?"

"At anytime, really. As long as they're together, I can do it anytime. Even right now, if you wanted."

"REAROW!"

Suddenly Hitsugaya came running past them on all fours followed by Yumichika, Ikkaku and Hisagi. With a battle cry, Ikkaku jumped in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. But Hitsugaya was too quick for him and leapt into the air and ran even faster down the hall, yowling with fear.

But that wasn't the only uproar going on at the moment. Outside there was another battle cry followed by a loud crash. The women ran to the nearest window to have a look. In the courtyard, Kenpachi and Kira were going at it with their swords drawn. It was absolute chaos! They clashed blades again and again, sending sparks flying in every direction, along with each other's blood. Kira was cackling like a madman as he swung his sword again at Kenpachi's body.

"Captain, please! He has no idea what he's doing!" Squad 11 tried to plead with their captain to stop fighting Kira, but there was no way he was going to run away from a challenge.

Kenpachi laughed wildly and clashed blades with Kira again. "This turned out to be more fun than I had hoped! Come at me, Kira!"

"With pleasure! HYAH!" Kira dove at him again, sword at the ready.

"Captain, please! He's not himself! Stop this!"

"Stay out of it!" they shouted in unison.

"Yeah! If Kenny wants to fight, then let him!" Yachiru chirped. "Stay out of the way and shut up!"

They clashed blades again, both laughing their heads off like bloodthirsty maniacs.

In another direction, there was another commotion. Several women were screaming their heads off and running in every direction. And who was there to frighten them? Why, none other than Hanataro himself. He looked from left to right, drooling by the bucketful with an aroused look on his face. His face was burning bright pink and he let out a roguish chuckle. "There are so many women here! Ah-hahaha!" He jumped through the air and hugged the nearest woman. She shrieked and pushed him away. He quickly recovered and pounced on another woman. He rubbed his face in her chest.

"EEK! Animal!" She slapped him across the face.

It was as if he could no longer feel any pain. Despite the handprint on his face, he got up and tried again with another woman. She slapped him, too. Unfazed, he got to his feet and ran over to another woman and grabbed her. "They look so soft! Let me touch them!"

She screamed and hit him as hard as she could.

Hanataro laughed wildly, completely turned on, and ran from woman to woman, trying to grope each one.

The hypnotist tore her eyes away from the chaos outside and looked up at Rangiku. "Like I said… I can fix them now if you want."

Rangiku sweat-dropped when Hanataro tried to rip off Isane's kimono earning him another slap to the face. "Yeah… Now's good. Now's very good. Do it now."

"AHH! Pervert!"

SLAP!

"You are in a state of complete peace… Absolute rest… You feel very calm, very relaxed, and happy…"

Hitsugaya smiled in his trance and let out a contented sigh.

If Ukitake hadn't been carrying a tray of sushi down the hall, they may never would have caught up to him. It was also pretty easy to get Hanataro's attention as well. All they had to do was push Rangiku in front of him and the rest was a no-brainer. Kira was the only issue. They finally had to tie him up and strap him down before they could carry him off.

After all that was said and done, it was relatively easy to get them into their trances. Kira was passed out in his chair with Hanataro laying in his lap. Hitsugaya had slumped out of his seat and was laying face down on the floor with a peaceful look on his face. He seemed to be enjoying his trance. It was nice to let his mind go blank for a while.

The hypnotist continued her spell, lulling the three into even deeper trances.

"When I clap my hands, you will wake up."

Kira nodded slowly.

Hanataro drooled.

Hitsugaya snored softly.

"Ok, here we go." She stood back and clapped her hands.

With start, they all jolted awake.

Kira was the first to come around. He opened his eyes and looked around. "Wh… Where am I? How'd I get here? What's going on?"

The hypnotist bent down so she was at eye-level with him. "How do you feel?"

"I… I'm not sure…" He rubbed his head. "I'm a little dizzy…" The rest of the sleep vanished from his eyes as a thought entered his mind. "Oh! Oh, wait! I remember! We were… But then… Was all that just a dream?"

"No, it really happened."

"Then I… I really..?" His face turned pale. "Oh, my God..!" He buried his face in his hands. "I don't believe I did that! Kenpachi could have killed me!"

"Zzz…"

Feeling wet on his pants, Kira looked down and spotted Hanataro drooling all over his lap. "Ack! Gross! Get off me!" He threw the Soul Reaper onto the floor muttering in disgust.

Hanataro opened his eyes and sat on the floor, looking blearily around. He was feeling very groggy and confused. He wiped the drool from his chin and looked up at the blond woman standing above him. Suddenly, everything came flowing back to him. His face turned bright red and his droopy eyes widened in horror. "Oh… Oh, my..! Did I… Did I really..? Ohh!" He stuttered, face turning an even darker shade of pink.

"So you remember?"

He buried his face in his hands. "Oh, do I ever! It took me a minute, but I do..! Oh, the things I did! How can I ever show my face again?! Everyone must hate me!"

Before any words of comfort could be spoken, another voice rang out, spitting flame and venom in every direction.

"MATSUMOTO!"

Rangiku flinched. Her captain was awake now.

Hitsugaya got to his feet and stormed over to her, face red with fury. He looked ready to kill.

"C- Captain…"

"Don't 'Captain' me!" he spat. "How could you do that to me?! Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?! Do you?!"

"Oh…" she chuckled nervously. "So you remember, do you?"

"Do I?!" he snapped. "That stupid command made me obey every command and act like a fool, but I was aware of exactly what was happening."

"Oh, you were? Just, uh… Just what exactly do you recall?"

"You turned me into a servant boy!" he bellowed. "You had me bring you sake! You made me pour it! 'Freshen your glass?' Please! I can't believe you made me do that! How could you do something so stupid, selfish, inconsiderate, underhanded, sneaky-!"

"Captain, I'm sorry!"

"Sorry nothing! You had be running through the halls acting like a two-year-old!"

"Now- now, technically, I didn't do that! I never gave you that command, sir."

"She's right," the blond woman said. "She had nothing to do with that."

"Perhaps… but _you_ did! How could you do that to me?!"

"There's no need to be upset, Mr. Hitsugaya. I had no idea you were even there! I never did that to you on purpose. You just showed up and happened to get caught up in the spell. I was aiming for these two, you just happened to show up at the wrong time. It was an accident."

"Still..!" Hitsugaya turned away. He was still fuming with rage, but he knew she was correct. "But it was no less embarrassing! I can never show my face again! Do you realize the way I acted? How shameful!"

"Now, now," she tried to calm him. "The command was only to unleash your inner self. Nowhere did I say anything about acting like a child. The only reason you acted that way was because deep down, hidden inside, you are that way. It's locked away in your subconscious. That's all I did. I merely brought out your inner self."

"So deep down inside, I'm a love-crazy wild man who can't keep his hands off alcohol for more than five minutes with a rude vocabulary?" Hanataro asked.

She shrugged. "Perhaps. Or perhaps that's your alter ego because the real you is so shy and weak. No offence."

"None taken."

"I still can't believe I thought I was a cat..!" Hitsugaya moaned.

"So you remember that, too, huh?"

He shrugged and looked at the ground. "Kinda, a little… I mean, it was really weird. I truly believed I was a cat right down to the smallest detail. When I looked at my hands, I saw furry paws. I didn't think I looked human at all, and I forgot how to walk on two legs. It was all very odd." He blushed. "But it was no less embarrassing..! The whole Soul Society saw me act like a freak! My reputation is ruined."

"Oh, come on, Captain. I'm sure it's not that bad," Rangiku comforted him. "Not too many people saw you. Trust me, this whole thing will blow over soon enough. I'm sure no one will remember any of this."

Bad time to say that. No sooner had she spoken those words did they hear laughter coming from the door. They turned and saw Hisagi, Ikkaku and Yumichika gathered in the doorway, laughing their heads off. They were all pointing and laughing at the little captain.

"Hey there, Kitty-cat! Want some milk?"

"How's the widdle-iddy-bitty baby boy doing today? Who wants a rattle?"

"As soon as these pictures develop, I'll send you some copies, ok, Captain Toddler!"

With fire in his eyes, Hitsugaya pointed out the door. "Get OUT! Get out of here right now, all of you! I'll skin you all alive if I ever catch you flashing around _any_ pictures! I swear on my status as a captain that I'll kill you if you so much as speak of this ever again. You morons! Now get lost! Out, out, OUT!"

The trio scattered, still laughing at his expense.

Hitsugaya was fuming with rage. No, he was past rage now. He was shaking and his face was the reddest red anyone had ever seen. He was murderous! That's the only way you could put it. It was shear murderous, burning, seething rage. He was beyond furious. Anyone who knew what was best of them would stay out of his way.

For a full minute, no one said or did anything. The only thing that could be heard was the clock ticking on the wall and Hitsugaya's angry breaths.

"Well…" the hypnotist said softly. "At least we weren't stressed out."

He rounded on her, showing her his red face and fiery eyes. "Do I look unstressed to you?! Does this expression read as 'blissful and serene'?!"

"I meant while you were hypnotized. Even when you were a cat, or even as a child, can you recall a single time when you were stressed out?"

Hitsugaya opened his mouth to answer, but found that he couldn't. How could he answer that? She was right! As far back as he could remember, while under hypnosis, there wasn't a time when he was ever stressed out. He was actually… happy. It was like a vacation away from anything and everything. And when he was in his trances, he felt even better. So relaxed and at peace. So free. He liked it. "Ok, so maybe it wasn't all that bad…"

"Well, I'm glad someone's happy about being back to normal…" Kira dug his nails into his knees, clearly very upset. "I guess I'm the only one who didn't want to change back. Or have you all forgotten that this was supposed to be about me? I wanted to change myself to get better. Now look at me! I'm back to being the old, shy, clumsy, weak Kira who no one takes seriously. True, I was a bit of an animal, but I was still better in that state. I had respect! Even Ikkaku liked me! I'm never going to get that again! Now… Now I'm back to being a weak good-for-nothing! No one will ever take me seriously again! No one believes in me..!"

The rest of Hitsugaya's fury melted away as he watched the sad look on Kira's face grow even sadder with every word he said. He truly believed that he was better as a battle-crazy maniac.

Whether it was out of pity or whatever it was, the hypnotist sat on the floor by his feet. "Kira, weren't you listening to anything we were saying?"

"Of course I was. Why?"

She smiled and placed her hand atop his. "Because if you had then you would know that I did nothing to really change you. I merely brought out your inner self. You are really strong and powerful, but you don't always show it. But I brought that side of you out. Don't you get it? You were strong all along, you just need to believe in yourself a little more. I didn't give you anything you didn't already have."

Kira blinked. "So… Then that means that I..? But…No, no. No…" he looked away. "Whether or not that is true, the fact of the matter is that I can only be that way if I'm forced through hypnosis. Can't you just redo the spell or something?"

She shook her head. "No, that wouldn't be wise. Some things you have to do on your own. Besides…" She looked over her shoulder and leaned closer as if to whisper a secret to him. He moved closer to listen. "Between you and me… you were only half hypnotized that whole time."

"I what?!"

"That's right. The other two were a lot more suggestible. You weren't in a full trance. The things you did were all you. The hypnosis, what little you were under, only helped push you along. It was mind over matter, really."

He stared at her. Then slowly, a smile started to spread across his face. "R- really? You mean it?"

"Uh-huh. You thought you could do it so you did it. Mind over matter. See?"

Kira jumped to his feet. "Yes! I knew it! I knew there was power inside of me! There's hope for me yet! Yahoo!" Kira jumped around the room and gave her a hug. "Thank you! I never would have known that if it hadn't been for you coming here. Thanks!"

She smiled and hugged him back. "A little emotional, aren't we?"

"Uh, right. Sorry." He pulled back. He took a few steps back. "Uh, s- sorry for the rudeness, but I have a lot of work to make up for. I should really get started. Thanks again, ma'am. We'll be seeing you I guess."

"Not bloody likely…" Hitsugaya muttered under his breath.

"Take care now. I'll- Ah!" Kira stopped short as Byakuya appeared in the doorway.

He raised a brow at Kira then looked into the room. When he spotted Hitsugaya, he smirked. He was smirking at Hitsugaya! With a little nod, Byakuya continued on his way down the hall with a soft chuckle.

_Did he just tease me?!_ Hitsugaya thought, blush creeping back onto his face.

Hanataro got up with a heavy sigh. "Well… I guess I should get going. I have a lot of people to apologize to… provided they allow me within ten feet of them…"

Kira followed him out the door. Rangiku and Unohana did the same. This left only Hitsugaya and the hypnotist.

Hitsugaya looked at her. "Was he _really_ only half hypnotized?"

She grinned. "Not really. I lied. To boost his confidence, you know?" She looked at the clock. "I guess I better get going. Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya reached out and grabbed her arm. "Before you go, I have a little proposal for you…" He grinned ever so slightly.

* * *

Ok, the next one will be the last chapter. This time I promise it will be.

I already have an idea of what he's going to do, but if anyone has any other ideas that are better than mine, I'll put it up.

Please review! ^-^


	24. Revenge

**Revenge:**

Rangiku dreaded going into the office that morning. She knew full well that her captain was still pissed off about yesterday and just about everything else that occurred within the past few days. Ok, so he wasn't quite right in the head, but so what? It wasn't like _everyone _saw him. Only a small handful, and even less than that actually knew what was going on. There was no reason to hold a grudge. And besides, why was he so mad at her? She was the one who took care of him. Ok, so maybe she did turn him into a butler, but no harm was done. And it was only for one afternoon. He went back to normal. It wasn't as big a deal as he made it out to be.

She stood outside the office door, staring at it. She really didn't want to go in. He was bound to still be mad at her. She had known him long enough to know that he could hold a grudge for days. And with something this big, he was likely to hold onto it for weeks!

_For crying out loud, I did all that paperwork! Doesn't that count for anything? Maybe he won't be so mad once I bring him his tea… or even some watermelon! He likes that! He'll forgive me. And besides, he's had a whole night to sleep on it. Maybe he's cooled down by now._

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door and walked in.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

"Huh?"

The moment she entered the room, she was bombarded by a barking Ikkaku. He ran over to her on all fours and tried to leap into her arms. He reared up on his hind legs, placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to lick her face.

She pushed him away, groaning in disgust. "Ugh! Ew! What was that?"

Ikkaku sat on the floor and panted with his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Looking up, Rangiku could see another person in the room from Squad 11. Yumichika was crouched in the corner licking his sleeve and purring softly. He was acting like a cat and Ikkaku was acting like a dog! But that only meant…

"Captain, what is going on here?"

Hitsugaya looked up from his desk and smiled. "Like it?" He gestured to the two in the room. "It's a little childish, I know… But, hey. I acted like a cat… Let's see how he likes it. And as for Ikkaku." His smile widened. "Well, I think it speaks for itself."

Rangiku stared at him. Then she looked down at Ikkaku slobbering all over the floor. "But… Cats hate dogs."

"I know." He continued to fill out the paperwork. "That's why I did it."

Rangiku gaped at him. "C- Captain..! You didn't…"

"I did."

"But I…" She never expected this from her captain. Ok, maybe she did, considering how mad he was. "So this is your revenge? Embarrassment for embarrassment?"

He grinned. "Pretty much. Let's see how they like being made fun of."

"But sir… They weren't the only ones who knew about this."

"I'm aware of that." He continued to write. "However, not all of them made fun of me. Unohana only wanted to help. She did nothing to further embarrass me. Ukitake didn't purposely try to embarrass me. If anything, he tried to help protect me. He treated me pretty well. Besides, I don't feel right doing this to him. Yumichika and Ikkaku, on the other hand, had me run into walls."

"And what about Hisagi and Byakuya?"

He smirked. "Oh, they got theirs."

"Really? What did you have them do?"

His smirk grew a little.

"Captain Hitsugaya, sir!" Hisagi came running into the room carrying a large tray in his hands. "I've brought you your tea! Be careful when you drink it; it's still very hot. I've also brought you some snacks to munch on while you work."

Hitsugaya took the teacup off the tray and took a small sip. "Thank you."

"Is there anything else you'll be needing, sir?"

Rangiku's jaw dropped. "You- you turned him into your personal butler?"

Hitsugaya gave a one armed shrugged. "Maybe. You did it, too."

"Then… But then, what did you do to Byakuya?" This she had to know.

He took another sip. "I made it so every time he hears the word 'captain' he'll cluck like a chicken."

Her jaw all but hit the floor. He was evil! She honestly had no idea he could be that cruel. "Sir… He _is _a captain!"

"Then he'll be doing that a lot." He took another sip of his hot tea. "Just be thankful I didn't make him act like a ballerina. That was my second choice."

"Captain, I didn't know you had this in you. You can be very cruel when you want to be, huh?" Now she knew what to expect in the future if ever this was to happen again. She just had to make sure that she was around when Byakuya started to act like a chicken. She couldn't miss that for the world. Although, a dancing Byakuya ballerina would have been very funny, too.

Ikkaku sniffed around the floor, still on all fours. His nose picked up a strange scent and he looked up. There, right in front of him, was Yumichika grooming himself. He let out a low growl. Yumichika looked up and froze like a deer caught in headlights. Ikkaku's growl grew louder until…

"BARK!"

Yumichika let out a screech and bolted.

Ikkaku chased after him growling and barking.

"Ahh!" Rangiku gasped and tried to get out of their way as they came running by her. Yumichika was screeching his head off and yowling. Ikkaku kept snapping at him and barking as loud as he could. Yumichika jumped over the back of the couch and attempted to scramble up the wall, trying to get to safety. Ikkaku was hot on his heels and tried to corner him. Yumichika screeched and tried to climb up the side of the bookcase.

"No, don't do that, Yumichika! It'll fall over!" Rangiku tried to stop him, but it was no use. There was no reasoning with a terrified and hypnotized Yumichika-cat. "Captain, do something! They're going to wreck the place!"

Ikkaku lowered himself to the ground and got ready to run. Yumichika jumped through the air and ran by Hitsugaya's desk. Ikkaku did the same. Just as he was about to pass the front of the desk, Hitsugaya did his job.

"Ikkaku, sit!"

He screeched to a halt and sat on the floor, panting. He was a well-trained dog.

Hitsugaya returned to his work. "There. Problem solved."

Yumichika, however, was still freaked out. He hadn't let go of the potted plant in the corner.

Hitsugaya sighed. "Hisagi, yarn, please."

"Sir, yes, sir!" He rolled a ball of yarn across the floor.

"Meow!" Yumichika mewed happily and chased after the yarn ball. He batted it from hand to hand and rolled it across the floor. He pushed it around with his nose and purred playfully. He rolled over onto his back and tossed it into the air.

Rangiku smiled. "Wow. That was easy." She turned to her captain. "By the way, how in the world did you get them to go along with this?"

"Through hypnosis, of course."

"I know that. I mean how did you get them all to get put under like this? What trick did you use?"

Hitsugaya put down his pen. "Well… First of all, I lured them all into the same room. I won't bore you with the details, but after that, I had the hypnotist come out and do her thing. By the way, did you know that people with high intelligence are more easily hypnotized?"

"No."

"Well, needless to say, Byakuya was the first one out. Then the others went… Oh, by they way, did you know that Byakuya drools in his sleep?"

"He does?" She bounced with joy. She just learned something new today! "How'd you find that out?"

"While they were in their trances. They all do something different."

"What did the others do? What about Ikkaku? What's he do?"

Hitsugaya thought. "Let's see… He sleeps with his mouth wide open and snores louder than a freight train. It's a wonder he even heard his command with all the noise coming out of his mouth. Hisagi sucks his thumb-"

"Really?" she all but screamed.

"Yeah. He slid off the chair and onto the floor. While he was laying there, he started to suck his thumb. And Yumichika hugs the nearest object or person he's sleeping by."

"For real?"

"Yeah. He latched onto Ikkaku's arm and didn't let go. Even I have to say that it looked rather cute."

"Did you get pictures?"

"No, sorry."

Rangiku looked down and saw Yumichika rubbing against her leg affectionately and purring. "What's going to happen to them? I mean, when they wake up? Will they remember this? How'd you work that out?"

"Needless to say, I was a little smarter about it than you were." He took another sip of tea and leaned back in his chair. "The effects of the spell will only last for the day. When they wake up tomorrow, they won't remember any of this. That's what I made sure of. Plus, they don't remember being hypnotized. I made sure she was blocked from their memory so they wouldn't suspect anything, just in case."

Rangiku blinked. Why didn't she ever think of that? Hitsugaya was good at this. He never did anything like this before, did he? It was a brilliant plan.

"By the way, Matsumoto." He snapped his fingers. "Hisagi, now."

"Yes, sir!" He grabbed something from behind Hitsugaya's desk and handed it to Rangiku. "This is for you." He gave her a bag.

She opened it and took a look inside. Her eyes widened in surprise and took out a sake bottle. She gaped at her captain. "I… I don't understand…"

Still writing, he said, "My whole experience while under that spell is a blur, but I do remember certain things. It's a little fuzzy, but I remember you trying to help me out."

She stared at him.

"You didn't exploit me like the others did and you tried to keep what happened a secret. You helped me out and I appreciate that. I'm thankful for what you did. That's a small token of my thanks for taking care of me."

This was quite a shock. He hardly ever thanked her; but then again, she never really did anything to receive thanks. But sake? He hated that stuff! He was against her even drinking it. He didn't even allow it in the office. And yet, now he gives it to her?

"Are you feeling alright, sir?"

He put down his pen. "I'm fine, Matsumoto. It's just my way of thanking you for all your help. Thanks to you, I have less work to do today. I never thought I'd see the day when you actually do paperwork without needing to be strapped down. Thank you."

She smiled and gripped the bottle tightly. How thoughtful of him. So her good deed didn't go unrewarded. "Thank you, Captain. And here I thought you'd still be mad about me turning you into a sake-servant." She chuckled nervously.

Hitsugaya's usual glare shadowed his eyes. "I wasn't going to bring that up…" he said through his teeth.

"Oh… Heh heh, yeah… Sorry…" She rubbed the back of her head with her free hand. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry about that."

He looked back down. "It's fine. Not a big deal."

She blinked. "But… yesterday you seemed pretty upset about it. I mean, you called me sneaky and underhanded. I would have thought you'd be much angrier with me rather than giving me gifts. Yesterday, you didn't think it was 'not a big deal'. What am I to think?" An idea popped into her mind and she suddenly held the bottle at arm's length. "It's not poisoned, is it?"

He rolled his eyes with a soft chuckle. "No. There's no sense killing you over something like this. Don't get the wrong idea. It's a gift and that's all. You took care of me and helped me out. I wanted to thank you. How much clearer can I be?"

She coiled her arm around the bottle again. "Oh. Never mind, then."

"If you don't want it then…"

"No! No, I'll take it!" She hugged the bottle close as if he were about to follow through on that suggestion. "Thank you, Captain. I'm glad that you don't hold a grudge against what I did. I mean, you were a bit of a handful and kind of troublesome. I just wanted a little fun. Sorry. Thank you for the gift!"

"Matsumoto, you're rambling."

"Sorry, sir. Thank you."

Hitsugaya snapped his fingers again. "Hisagi, crick in my neck."

"Allow me, sir!" He ran over behind him and started to massage Hitsugaya's shoulders and neck. "Better, sir?"

He let out a satisfied moan. "Mmm… Yes, much better. Keep that up until I tell you to stop."

"Of course, Captain Hitsugaya, sir!" Hisagi kept rubbing Hitsugaya's shoulders, working out all the kinks.

Rangiku smiled and started to back out of the office. "I'll leave you to your work, Captain. I'm off. With any luck, I might catch Byakuya's chicken act on my way out. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my little gift. Thank you."

Hitsugaya waved at her. "I hope you enjoy. It's everything you deserve."

She thanked him again and left. Once in the hall, she began uncorking the bottle to take a swing.

Hisagi looked from the door to Hitsugaya. "Captain, did you forget to tell her that you loaded that bottle with laxatives?"

He smirked, picking up his pen again. "Let her find out on her own."

Byakuya was feeling a little strange. He was missing a big chunk of his memory when Hitsugaya asked to speak with him earlier that day. He remembered sitting in a chair next to three other Soul Reapers and Hitsugaya standing in front of them. But then, it was as if he had blacked out. He couldn't remember what he had wanted. No sooner did he sit down did Hitsugaya tell them that he was finished with them. So what happened between calling them in and ordering them out? How odd…

A female Soul Reaper entered the room with a pile of papers. "These are for you to fill out, sir."

He grunted a 'sure' and lifted his pen.

"The top forms in blue are due by noon, Captain Kuchiki."

"Bakaw!"

She jumped and spun around. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

She stared at him. He appeared normal. He wore the same expression he always did and seemed… fine. The ever serious captain was his usual self. "I just… I thought I heard…" She trailed off.

"What?"

"I… It's nothing." She turned around and started out the door again. "Forget I said anything, Captain."

"Bakaw!"

Once again, with a gasp, she whirled about to look at him. He was starting to file out the papers as if nothing was wrong. "Did- did you just say something, sir?"

He looked up. "No. Why?"

"I… Nothing." She left without another word.

With a raised brow, he turned back to his work. _Weird… What was her problem? _

Outside in the hall, he could hear a couple of Soul Reapers having a conversation.

"Man! Can you believe what the Captain is making us do?"

"Bakaw!"

"Yeah, he's such a slave driver! He needs to lay back sometime, you know?"

"I guess captains can't do that."

"Bakaw!"

"Captains are such a pain."

"Bakaw!"

"Hey, did you heard something just now?"

"No, what?"

"It… It almost sounded like a chicken…"

"A chicken? Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm serious. It really did sound like one."

"Well, I didn't hear anything. Come on. Let's go back before the captain yells at us again."

"Bakaw!"

"There it was again."

"Give it a rest!"

They walked off.

Byakuya sighed. _A chicken? Where would they get an idea like that? There are no chickens around here… Not unless they're cooked, anyway…_ He went back to work.

A few minutes later Renji came in with a huge groan. "Morning, Captain."

"Bakaw!"

He did a double-take. "Huh?"

"'Huh' what?"

"Did you..?"

"Did I what?"

"Did… N- never mind…" He sat down on a couch by the window. "Did you hear the news? Turns out Hitsugaya, Kira and Hanataro were all in some kind of trance for the past few days. That's explains a lot!"

"Oh? Is that what you heard? How is everyone doing now?"

Renji let out a huge sigh. "Well, where to start?" He scratched his head as he spread out on the couch. "Well, Hanataro spent the whole morning apologizing to just about every woman he's come in contact with the past few days. Some won't let him anywhere near them, so he had to apologize through one of those bullhorn things."

"You mean a megaphone?"

"Whatever they're called. I think a few of these women put up restraining orders on him. It's funny actually." He started to laugh just thinking about it.

"Other than that, is he himself again?"

"Seems like it. Unohana tested him to see if he was his old self again."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She said that she had an important task for him to do. I think she said something along the lines of… There's a man bleeding profusely and needs immediate attention. There's another man who's missing a chunk of his side after getting it bitten off by a Hollow and needs a replacement torso. There's a woman losing blood fast and he has to do a full-body search to find the wound in order to close it. And there's another guy who got an eye injury and needs to stick a needle into his eyes ball to treat him. And he needs to tend to all these patients in under a half hour or they'll die and there aren't enough people to help him out."

Byakuya stopped writing. "So how did he take it?"

"He passed out."

"He fainted under pressure?"

"Yup. Again. But Unohana said that he's doing much better than before. He usually passed out at the sight of blood and it would take him a full hour to come around. This time he came around rather quickly but he's still a little woozy."

"What about those people?"

"Oh, she made all that up to test him. It worked."

"Hm. She can be a very cruel woman when she wants to be."

"That's the Captain for you."

"Bakaw!"

Renji sat up. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Did you..?"

"I didn't say anything."

Renji continued to stare at him waiting for something to happen. When nothing occurred, he laid back down on the couch. "I'll tell you one thing. I'm so glad we're finished with all this. I couldn't take listening to Kira's insane rubbish another minute. He was a nut job, telling people to fight him and all that crap. If I had to hear him do that one more time, I'd-"

"Fight me!"

"GAH!" Renji tumbled off the couch and stared at the Soul Reaper hiding behind the couch. "K -Kira? What the hell were you doing back there? How long have you been hiding back there?"

Kira climbed out from behind the couch still laughing his head off. "I got you! Hahahaha! You should have seen your face!"

"Kira!"

"Ok, ok! I wasn't back there for long. I just wanted to scare you a little. That's all. Sorry about that."

"I wasn't scared!"

"You screamed."

"You startled me! There's a difference! Tell him, Captain!"

"Bakaw!"

Renji gave him a quizzical look. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" Byakuya kept filling out the papers. "Honestly, everyone's acting so odd lately. Am I the only sane one left?"

YAY! It's finally done! Thanks for all the nice reviews and I hope you liked the story!

Please review one last time and I'll be sure to write more Bleach fanfics! I'm open for ideas, too!


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